June 15, 2026
By: Kate Hudson
What do you imagine when you think about getting an airport ready for a global soccer tournament? Obviously big screens to watch the game while you wait for your flight. (Check!) Definitely lots of staff throughout the terminal helping you find your way to the baggage claim, the light rail station, or the bathroom. (Check again!) And no doubt selfie-worthy moments to prove to your social media followers that you were there and make them jealous. (Check three!)
When you start dribbling through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), you’ll get all of the above…plus some amazing new public art to celebrate the immersive summer of soccer!
Where art finds the back of the net
Local fans will be excited to learn that SEA partnered with our football clubs, the Seattle Sounders and Seattle Reign, who donated team artifacts to the airport’s Public Art program. A selection of local artists cast those items in bronze, and the new pieces will be installed curbside on top of the security bollards along the Arrivals and Departures drives. These and additional bronze pieces inspired by the tournament will become a permanent addition to SEA’s public art collection, so you are reminded of this summer’s event every time you travel through SEA.
- Tacoma artist Weston Lambert designed, fabricated, and installed cast glass forms made from soccer equipment sourced from the local football clubs, including cleats, goalkeeper gloves, and balls. Stop by Door 25 along Departures to view these artworks
- Seattle artists Judith and Daniel Caldwell created a sports-themed pattern depicting a running figure inspired by art history. Find it at Door 14 on Arrivals. This collaborative duo also created the river of 300 brass fish running along the floor of B Concourse in 1998
- Seattle installation artist and sculptor Rachael Comer created a decorative cake cast in bronze, placed adjacently to her hands holding a party plate, also cast in bronze. View this artwork at Door 29 on Departures
- Seattle artist Henry Jackson-Spieker created two sculptures depicting abstract forms made of cast bronze and glass. Check them on Arrivals at doors 6 and 18
- Seattle artist Holly Ballard Martz designed nickel-plated bronze spherical sculptures inspired by travelers' journeys arriving and departing from the airport, using found objects and crafting techniques. Find her work when you’re flying next on Departures at doors 7 and 13
Scouting the global talent
Of course, one of the most amazing things about the tournament is that it brings the world to Washington state, with players and fans from literally all over the globe coming to experience the festivities. You will also see new additions to the SEA art program to reflect that worldwide moment. Throughout the Baggage Claim, you will see pieces from artists representing some of the nations that are playing in this year’s competition or that have played in previous ones. Don’t miss these amazing artists creating the temporary installations, including:
- María Fernanda Cardoso, a Colombian artist based in Australia, has crafted paper prints depicting vibrant and fantastical spiders (editor’s note: not real spiders, don’t worry) across from bag claim 8
- Henrique Oliveira, a painter and large-scale installation artist from Brazil, will display a tree crafted from tree bark, branch bits, cardboard, plywood, and glue next to bag claim 9. Oliviera has studios in London, England, and São Paulo, Brazil
- Sandra Monterroso, a contemporary multimedia artist from Guatemala, will display an artwork adjacent to bag claim 10 that incorporates natural pigments. This art at SEA combines Indigofera, fustic, chlorophyll, and acrylic on cotton paper
- Daniel Carrillo and Eirik Johnson, based in Seattle, are collaborating to display an illustrious multiple panel daguerreotype photogram on mirror-polish silver by bag claim 6. Carrillo is a self-taught mezzotint artist and photographer born in Mexico and raised in California; he moved to Seattle in 1997. Johnson is a photographic artist born in Seattle whose work focuses on the environment and society
- Romson Bustillo is a Seattle-based artist born in the Philippines working in printmaking, mixed media, and space coding. Look for his artwork made from hand blown and sand carved glass on the A Concourse platform of the SEA Underground
This summer will mark many global soccer fans’ first visit to the Seattle region, and it is an amazing opportunity to highlight everything that makes the Pacific Northwest great. The art and music scene is one of the defining features of our region. SEA is proud to incorporate these beautiful new pieces into the fan experience!
