John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 8 (T8) is welcoming a new large-scale mural by Queens-based artist Jedidiah Dore.
As part of our mission to celebrate and showcase our local communities through art, we partnered with Dore to commission a mural depicting Queens. This is the third art installation to transform otherwise utilitarian construction barricades into a massive canvas to promote the vibrant local arts community.
The barricades are part of the $125 million commercial redevelopment program at T8 that is transforming the customer experience with a complete redesign and expansion of the concessions program, including new dining, retail, duty free shopping, performance space, and new digitally enabled experiences.
URW Airports approached Dore with the idea to create a mural that measures 105 x 12 feet.
“We’re always looking for ways for our guests to experience the vibrant art of this community,” said Rich Singer, URW Director of Marketing, JFK. “Inviting Jedidiah to share his vision live from the terminal felt like the perfect fit. We’re grateful he shared this experience with us.”
While Dore had painted a large-scale NYC Murals Project at the landmark Daily News Building in Manhattan, featuring 17 murals, six of which are 30 feet long, he had never done anything as large as the JFK project.
Dore spent a week conceptualizing the mural and presented the URW Airports team with three concepts. They ultimately chose the one that Dore calls “A Wondrous Borough,” which is a dedication to Queens.
To create the mural, Dore scaled his concept and did what he could to map it out knowing there would be some spontaneous decisions when he began drawing it in the terminal. Then he sketched the entire scene on the wall and even used a ruler to draw areas out of reach. Once the mural was drawn, he began painting.
He quickly became a fixture at the airport where he spent more than two weeks,10-12 hours daily, creating this work of art. While working on the piece he got to know many employees who stopped to see his progress, ask questions, and even bring him coffee. He enjoyed visits from travelers who would watch and then come by on their way back through the airport to see how far it had come.
His gratitude for this piece is more than being involved in its creation. He said he is grateful that he could bring art to the airport so that people who don’t always have the means or time to see art can be exposed to it.
“It feels like a dream that I was able to create something so grand in an airport,” Dore said. “I hope this piece inspires the employees and passengers at JFK and it encourages more public sharing of art. I’m so proud of this piece and the collaboration behind bringing this piece to life.”
When he was first approached about the project, he said he became emotional. It was a dream come true for Dore beyond just creating something of this magnitude. He has always had a love of aviation and space exploration so bringing these passions together was something very special. Dore is known for his avid interest in aviation which has taken him to places including the Mars Yard for the Curiosity Rover, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Deep Space Network, Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
A native of California, Dore originally came to New York to study painting and illustration at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn but fell in love with the city and never left. He is a professional illustrator who prides himself on creating art every day. He also is an adjunct professor at Parsons New School.
