- Officials with the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority and ArtsQuest unveiled a new mural at Lehigh Valley International Airport
- The mural, by Allentown artist Matt Halm, includes several scenes alluding to the airport's history in the Valley
- Students from ArtsQuest summer camps along with airport employees helped paint the mural
HANOVER TWP., Pa. — A new mural greets passengers at Lehigh Valley International Airport using the tunnel from the airport’s short-term parking lot to the terminal.
Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds, Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority Executive Director Thomas Stoudt, ArtsQuest President Kassie Hilgert and others added a few final touches Tuesday at the unveiling, filling in a few paint-by-number hearts in the mural’s center.
The mural came together through a collaboration between the airport authority and ArtsQuest, with funding provided by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Officials brought ideas to Allentown artist Matt Halm, with the goal of referencing the story of the airport and its role in the Lehigh Valley.
“Through a brainstorming process we provided – or, Matt, should I say inundated you with – a number of ideas for how we could reflect the great history of ABE on the wall,” Stoudt said. “Thank you for creating this amazing masterpiece, as it perfectly greets our passengers flying through ABE.”
As passengers leaving the airport cross the street and walk toward the parking lot, they will see a suitcase with stickers referencing the destinations ABE serves; a jet climbing over the airport's old terminal; a reference to the flight information boards inside the airport; a child holding a homemade welcome sign; a view of Bethlehem from a plane window; a sign reading “You’ve got a friend in the Lehigh Valley”; and an envelope celebrating the beginning of airmail service at the airport in 1935.
The child with a welcome sign serves as the mural’s focal point and serves to welcome travelers home – or to the Valley for the first time.
“I love the idea of somebody welcoming someone home from a trip,” said Halm. “We identified pretty early we want it to be a welcoming piece of artwork, right, but also highlighting travel, highlighting aviation, highlighting some of the history of the airport.”
Students in ArtsQuest’s summer programs helped paint the mural, filling in paint-by-number shapes in the lower five feet of the mural they could reliably reach. Another section of the mural was similarly filled in by airport employees.
“What these students get to see is that art actually has an impact on where you live. And the fact that they can make and be a part of that impact is a huge life lesson for them,” said Hilgert.
“These students now are going to want to bring their friends, and they're going to want to walk through this tunnel and say ‘I did this part of this.’”
Hilgert said that she couldn’t help but notice the pristine white wall on the other side of the tunnel, practically begging to be filled with more art.
