'The heart and soul of our city': Art display greets travelers at O'Hare's Terminal 5

Stunning new artwork now greets weary travelers as they make their way down the roughly 6/10-mile arrival corridor toward customs at O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 5.

As part of the airport's Terminal 5 expansion project, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Chicago Department of Aviation commissioned the $3.5 million acquisition of works by Chicago artists.

"We know that art had to be the focal point - like music, art is a universal language," said aviation Commissioner Janie Rhee. "For visitors, this collection offers passengers a glimpse into the heart and soul of our city, putting Chicago's culture on the main stage."

In addition to the 17 works - typically about 12 feet in length and lining the north wall of the long corridor - a large-scale, 13-segment linear artwork called " ... a murmuration" by Jina Valentine graces the passenger-level concourse. It consists of 600 wall-mounted convex aluminum discs of varying sizes.

More than 20 artists, some of whom collaborated with one another, participated in the project.

Project Manager Lydia Ross said it was important to the department of aviation that the art would create a place of welcoming for passengers, some of whom might be experiencing fatigue or anxiety, as they pass through the arrival corridor.

Cecil McDonald Jr., creator of "I Wonder As I Wander," was one of the artists who was there Thursday to discuss his piece. It's a manipulated black-and-white archive photograph that shows an audience watching the rap group NWA performing at the Riviera night club.

"I want passengers to experience Black humanity in full breath," McDonald said. "I'm in the balcony of the Rivera, and I love the historical aspect of it as well."