Mark Perryman views airports as blank canvases.
And as president and CEO of Norfolk International Airport, he intends to fill it with art.
For years, the airport has displayed works from the Chrysler Museum of Art and the Perry Glass Studio and exhibited pieces by local students. But since starting his job in 2022, Perryman has always wanted more.
Last year, he allocated $30,000 to three museum-quality glass cases in the airport’s main lobby that for the first time, as of Jan. 3, showcase the work of Hampton Roads residents. And in two to three years, Perryman said, the airport will have its own 5,000-square-foot art museum.
“My wife’s an artist. So blame it a little on that,” he said. “She influences me in that way. We want to see art everywhere we go.”
The airport is undergoing a massive renovation to modernize its facilities and add features including three more gates in Concourse A, more restaurants and bars, enlarged seating areas, a new hotel, an observation area and a designated place for pet relief.
The bridge that connects the Concourse A gates to the main lobby will be turned into the museum, which will house rotating exhibits and several permanent displays of artworks.
All the works will be by Tidewater area artists. For many travelers, Perryman said, the airport is their first and last impression of the region, and the intent of the museum will be to visually represent a rich, local culture.
Once the galleries are completed, a search for artwork will be wide-reaching and accompanied by an open call for submissions from artists in Hampton Roads and neighboring communities, including the Outer Banks and other parts of northeastern North Carolina. Select gallery space will be filled by local museums and other cultural institutions.
The works chosen will be seen by thousands of travelers a week.
Any passenger landing at Concourse A, which handles domestic and all international arrivals, will have to walk through the museum to leave the airport.
Travelers who walk directly from the airport to the new hotel will also have to pass through the museum; the Concourse A bridge is expected to become the connector between the hotel and airport.
“We want people, as they arrive, to see and go, ‘Oh, wow! Look at this. You know I can go there. I can go there, or I can go there,’” Perryman said.
As of mid-January, there was no planned start date for work on the museum. But until it’s complete, a small taste of what is to come can be found inside the airport’s existing art gallery.
Since its installation last year, the display has showcased dolls from the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University, a timeline of the airport’s history curated by airport art coordinator Erin Murdock and an exhibit by the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. An exhibit by the African American Sewcial Threaders Quilt Guild that highlights the rich history of quilt making in Hampton Roads was placed in the gallery this month.
Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8139, colin.warrenhicks@virginiamedia.com