San Diego International Airport wants local artists or organizations to help with a new exhibit

San Diego International Airport is inviting artists to submit works for an exhibit depicting how the events of the pandemic have spurred social transformation.

The airport welcomes artists, curators and cultural, community, or educational organizations to submit proposals for display in the exhibition, titled “A Necessary Departure.”

Its goal is to “create a conversation that acknowledges the worldwide pandemic as a societal anomaly, while also highlighting the resulting ways that artists and creative thinkers have contributed to positive change,” the program notice stated.

It asks how artists have devised innovative solutions to the pandemic’s problems, and how did their work “provide us all with perspective that enabled us to navigate these times?”

Curators are looking for existing work created during the pandemic. Submissions should include art made within the last two and a half years. Up to 15 artists or organizations will be featured in the exhibition, and organizers encourage local artists to apply.

Artwork selected will be displayed in the airport for a year, starting in October, the notice stated. The works will be presented in Terminal 2, in wall and display cases, the concourse, corridors, international arrivals area and rotunda. Reviewers will also prioritize proposals to paint or treat the airport’s public piano.

Applicants must submit proposals by Aug. 29, including up to 10 images or three video links with a statement of interest describing the work and its connection to the exhibition theme, along with other materials. The exhibit will place a priority on interactive works and will notify artists selected in early September, the airport stated.

The exhibit aims to capture how the pandemic and the art it inspired “has also been a catalyst for innovation and social change.”