Louisiana travelers can view art in the unlikeliest of places: the airport!The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport exhibition BRG@BTR, in partnership with the Baton Rouge Gallery, features works by LSU faculty and alumni, on display for travelers to enjoy.

The exhibition includes pieces by LSU art professors Kelli Scott Kelley, Leslie Koptcho, and Jacqueline Parker, and LSU art alumni John Alleyne, Jamie Baldridge, Danielle Burns, Mary Ann Caffery, Rob Carpenter, Samuel J.Corso, Mary Lee Eggart, Leslie Elliottsmith, Michael Howes, Kathryn Hunter, Ross Jahnke, Brad Jensen, Brian Kelly, Phyllis Lear, Matt Morris, and Isoko Onodera.

The airport gallery just opened officially inNovember 2021, as reported byDaily Report.It currently features the works of about two dozen Louisiana artists, which will rotate with others from BRG's roster of 70 member artists.It reflects a nationwide trend in which more airports are housing pieces by local artists to showcase regional character and identity, while improving the visual experience for travelers.

BRG President and CEO Jason Andreasen has aimed to demystify the sometimes stuffy reputation of art galleries and make the works of local artists and creatives more accessible, according to theBaton Rouge Business Report.

"One of the things we've been hoping to do is to start meeting people where they are, as opposed to always asking them to come and meet us," Andreasen says."More and more, we're hoping to go out and meet Baton Rouge where Baton Rouge is."

The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport project, called BRG@BTR, provided an opportunity to breathe new life into a defunct space, Andreasen says.The former B Concourse smokers' lounge was retooled as an art gallery, while the A and B Concourses now also include original art installations.