Panama City Beach, Fla., July 9, 2025-As part of making art accessible to the masses, Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) has launched a new program to showcase art in the airports by people of the region. The airport through a partnership with Life Media Publications have come up with Art Escape, a cultural initiative that brings rotating displays of local contemporary art right into the heart of the airport, thereby making it directly visible to passengers passing through the concourse.
The opening of the first collection under this program was at the moment of July 1, where it was called Where am I Going? It consists of diverse visual works such as paintings, photos and installations of six Northwest Florida artists. These works will be shown until November, even though it is assumed that new collections will be similarly displayed in time in the future.
The interaction does not take place in typical gallery conditions, as in the airport; a different interaction takes place. Passers-by are able to enjoy the piece of art without having to rearrange their schedules and have to pay tickets. The show provides performers with an opportunity to show their art to the broad, varied audience representing people not only of this country but also other countries as well.
It is worth to note that this project represents not only the natural beauty of the area, but also the cultural features of the region, as ECP Executive Director Parker McClellan stressed. We are proud to have always been a port of entry to the beaches within Northwest Florida. Now being a source of the creative mind of the people too, McClellan said.
Where am I Going? The six artists donated to the initiative are:
- Francisco Adaro – painter known for his vibrant colors and expressive human forms
- Christon Anderson – photographer focusing on local landscapes and architectural details
- Mark Little – mixed-media artist working with abstract and figurative forms
- Chanler Williams – installation artist experimenting with space and viewer interaction
- Mandy Yourick – painter with a focus on coastal life and surrealism
- Jamie Zimchek – visual artist and writer who played a key role in organizing the project
Zimchek, a contributor to the organizing of the exhibit said that she was thrilled to be able to present the contemporary art to an audience inside a space that would not normally be used to present the same. Being able to meet established audiences where they are is a meaningful thing and it is most meaningful when they are not necessarily seeking out art. She said, The element of surprise can take the relationship to a higher level.
The concept of Art Escape is not rocket science but a working one because it drives people to look at the airport as something more than just a passage point. Thousands of people going through the concierge in a day make the place a living canvas of local creativity. The airport statistics show that ECP accommodated close to 1.9 million passengers in 2017, majority of whom are the tourists visiting the Emerald coast in Florida or the local residents commuting to neighboring counties.
The organizers will make the art available in a place that many people may access so that they can break the notion that art belongs to galleries or other formal settings only. One of the staff members of the design team involved in the project said that they want people to fold their phone, even during a brief period of time, and look at something that 1 was not expecting to see.
Though the current exhibition will be removed at the end of the year, preparations are in place to ensure that the gallery maintains a continuous exhibition of local art work at ECP. The ongoing partnership is expected to continue with the help of Life Media Publications, which has been working towards the development of culture at the Gulf Coast.
With programs such as Art Escape, airport officials hope to make the passenger experience richer, but also to attract attention to the thriving arts community featuring all of Bay County and its surrounding areas. The artists get a chance to reach out to new audiences. To travelers it is a lesson that Florida is not just beautiful because of beaches; it is also beautiful because its people are creative.
