Philadelphia airport to add public art

The Philadelphia Airport will soon dress up its parking garages with a photo mural of dancing Philadelphians. Pictures of dancers – both trained professionals and enthusiastic amateurs – will be blown up to two-stories tall and mounted on the 5 parking structures.

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Photographer J.J. Tiziou stays very busy taking pictures for the program guides and websites of Philadelphia arts organizations. This installation on the airport parking garages is his work, writ large – writ very large. It will be nearly 1/2 mile long and about 40 feet high.

In 2008 Tiziou invited anyone and everyone to dance for his camera. He originally pitched the idea to be used in a SEPTA station.

Artist's rendering.

I didn't really put together a very good presentation, and we didn't get it. But was excited about how people came out for the project – I had a ton of volunteers pledging months in advance to be on the install team.

Tiziou's idea, to capture the myriad ways Philadelphian's dance, was picked up by the airport. It's called "How Philadelphia Moves". About 200 dancers have already passed through his studio – Tiziou is soliciting more dancers, but ultimately only 20 images will be used on the garages.