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Three Idaho Artists Are Finalists For Boise's Airport Mural Project

Courtesy of Boise City Department of Arts and History

Idaho’s capital city turns 150 this year and to mark the occasion the ticketing lobby at the Boise Airport will be home to a commissioned mural. The city of Boise will commission the work. A national panel has narrowed the field to proposals from three Idaho artists.  

Boise-based artist Belinda Isley has proposed a collage style mural that uses historic photographs and vintage objects to celebrate the city’s birthday.  Isley writes in her proposal “The mural, located in a large room, is designed to have immediate impact, but also compliment the color palette of the other artwork in the area, be aesthetically pleasing and offer a dose of humor to travelers.”

Isley calls her work “whimsical” and explains that her project called Are We There Yet? would include artifacts and words “that hint of our playfulness.”  You can read her full proposal here.

Anne Klahr is an artist from Star, ID. She’s among the finalists for her proposal called Along The River’s Edge. “My vision for this specific site is to portray a familiar serene memory of morning light filtering through the trees,” Klahr writes in her proposal.

Credit Courtesy of Boise City Department of Arts and History
Anne Klahr's idea is called Along the River's Edge.

“The river’s edge transports us to a calm, peaceful state of mind. Possessing this tranquility will help travelers navigate their way through the airport and on to their chosen destinations.  Along the river’s edge, the subject of my painting celebrates the very reason our ancestors settled in Boise one-hundred-and-fifty years ago, the Boise River and its adjacent woodlands.”  Read more about heridea here.

Suzanne Lee Chetwood’s proposal is also being considered. She’s put forward a couple of options for the Boise Airport. Idaho, Enduring Spirit portrays the Boise river valley as Chetwood imagines it would have looked like in the 1800s.

She writes in her proposalthat the view “is from an aerial perspective above Lucky Peak Reservoir, looking into the river canyon where modern-day rock-climbing enthusiasts spend their free time; flat tops of the canyon might be where animals grazed like the Bison; the Basque sheepherders flock; cattle and elk exist; and finally, looking into the distant hills where water drains from the foothills' snow melt into the Boise River.”

Credit Courtesy of Boise City Department of Arts and History
Idaho, Enduring Spirit is one of two pieces artist Suzanne Lee Chetwood had envisioned for the Boise Airport.

Chetwood’s other piece called Ascend would be multi-dimensional exploring the aspects of landscape river. “The change of a camera lens can filter light in a way that gives one a new perspective or allows the scope of vision to change. Water filters through our landscape, percolating through sand and earth in a process of purification. Over centuries, diverse populations of people--prehistoric to modern-- have filtered through this river valley in a quest for sustenance, prosperity, change, and peace,” Chetwood writes.

Now it’s your turn to weigh inon these proposals. You can comment until May 20. The panel will make a decision by the end of the month. Their decision will go through a series of approvals with the city's arts and history commission, Boise Airport Commission and Boise City Council.

What would you create for the Boise Airport's ticketing lobby? Share your thoughts below.

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