Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of the ArtPort art gallery inside the Columbus Municipal Airport terminal building in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Dec. 29, 2025.
There’s a new place in town to view community-created art, but just where it’s located may be surprising to some.
The Columbus Municipal Airport recently debuted its new ArtPort in the Airport gallery, providing a space for up and coming community artists to display their work. Though it may be an unexpected place for an art gallery, Columbus Municipal Airport office assistant Aeriana Riddle said it’s in the perfect place.
“Columbus is such an artsy place anyway and home to very unique art, so the fact that we’re bringing people into the airport terminal to look at art is like a totally new concept and I love that,” Riddle said. “Feels a little bit groundbreaking to me, because it’s different.”
The gallery can be found in the hallway to the airport’s administrative offices. It is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Riddle said the idea for the ArtPort came from airport director Brian Payne and his time as French Lick Municipal Airport’s airport director. That gallery in French Lick’s airport showcased local artists, painters, photographers, sculptors and wood carvers, she said.
The vision behind the ArtPort is to create an opportunity to keep visitors engaged in the space and to provide the space for up and coming local artists to present their first show. Riddle said it’s primarily open for emerging artists, as they are trying to give people who are just getting started a spotlight, and she believes the gallery has already gained some traction from the community.
“There’s been a good amount of conversation on the Facebook post and through email,” Riddle said.
Right now, visitors can view portraits created by Columbus East High School senior Saya Hauser as a fundraiser for her Kintsugi Project, a legal aid fund to help families in domestic violence court cases facing unaffordable legal fees during civil custodial proceedings. All of her works on display are for sale for $250 each.
Donations and funds raised will go to an allotted fund with Turning Point Domestic Violence for survivors of domestic violence who are in domestic violence-related court cases, specifically custodial. An option is also available to donate the art back to the subject or to be displayed at Turning Point.
Her works on display are oil painting portraits of domestic violence survivors, including her self portrait. According to her artist spotlight card available in the terminal lobby, the focus of her work is capturing physical and emotional likeness. She often focuses compositionally on a sole figure to express individual stories and emphasize the uniqueness of one subject’s presence.
“Much of my portfolio centers on portraits of domestic violence survivors, including myself, as a way of transforming trauma into healing and growth,” Hauser writes on her artist spotlight card.
The portrait Hauser creates are rooted in skills she learned over the summer while studying oil painting at Harvard University with Scott Roben, where she deepened her understanding of color temperature and compositional balance. She is heavily influenced by Marlene Dumas’ emotionally-charged portraits, in addition to Jennifer Packer’s use of negative space and Alice Neel’s portrayal of figures, her artist spotlight card says.
“Through these influences, I seek to create portraits that emphasize the connection between trauma and healing,” Hauser writes on her artist spotlight card.
All of her works are for sale and two have already sold, Riddle said. She plans for Hauser’s works to be available for viewing until mid-January.
They plan to rotate out artists every three to four weeks, but there may be times when the gallery features a couple different artists depending on what they want to display. There are no commissions through the gallery, Riddle said, but as long as the artwork can hang on the wall, it can be displayed in the gallery.
“It’s a wide hallway, but there’s no room for any tables or anything like that,” Riddle said. “It’s a very tiny but unique space because Hangar 5 is right across the hallway and it’s fun to have people come from breakfast over there and come walk down the hallway. I’m looking forward to more of that traffic.”
The airport will host a gallery opening in the lobby as each month begins, where the public and artist will be invited to speak. The artist will also be invited to develop enrichment opportunities around their theme, Riddle said.
From here, Riddle said she would love to have lots of different kinds of art come through the door. She loves that this acts as a space where artists, who may not be professionals, can display their art, experiment with new art pieces and receive feedback from the public.
“… that’s the whole point, is to give them exposure,” Riddle said. “Eventually I would love it to be a stop on an art tour, just keep people coming through the door.”
