b'68 PIE ARTSCAPESRamp BeautificationLike hotels and restaurants, airports have back of houseGomez and Spencer were selected from 20 local muralists areas designed for utility, where decorative visual elementswho applied for the project, and each created separate portions are not a priority. St. Pete-Clearwater International Airportof the single, continuous mural. Unbeknownst to the selection (PIE) proves that even concrete ramp areas laden with industrialcommittee, the artists were already good friends, which ground support equipment dont have to be aesthetic dead zones.undoubtedly made collaborating on the project easier than if they At PIE, two vibrant murals welcome arriving passengers towere strangers.Floridas Gulf Coast. Airport leaders chose to commission artworkThe airside murals debuted last year, and have since inspired for the once-dull airside area because most of PIEs traffic ismore inside the terminal. There are two large vertical pieces ground loaded, so passengers regularly walk right through whatframing the main exit doors near Baggage Claim, and another airports typically consider a back of house area.at the District Pub, a pre-security concession based on the local Guests at PIE used to pass plain gray walls to board andWarehouse District, which is filled with murals and other public deplane on the tarmac. Now, they see a panoply of Florida color,art. St. Petersburg also hosts SHINE, an annual mural festival of flora and pollinators painted by local artists Laura Spencer andinternational acclaim.Leo Gomez. Spencer goes by the moniker Miss Crit as a nodOur area is one of the mural capitals of the world, shares PIE to the critters she includes in her pieces. Gomez incorporated thePublic Relations Director Michele Routh. It just makes sense for airport motto, Go Easy, and also convinced the airport to allowour airport to reflect that. him to extend the mural area around the corner, creating even more front of house appeal for passengers and airport staff alike. October 2024AirportImprovement.com'