Luminaries of Light and Space by DUBLAB and Laura Whitcomb, installation view. Photo by SKA Studios LLC., courtesy of Los Angeles World Airports. Installation view of a large display case with various sculptures and colored light inside. The objects are placed on clear pedestals and there are white architectural lights above (top). View of moving walkway inside the passenger tunnel where guests can hear the airport's first immersive sound art installation The Orchestrina by DUBLAB. Photo courtesy of Los Angeles World Airports (bottom).

(Los Angeles) – Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), in partnership with DUBLAB, invites passengers to experience two new art offerings at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)’s West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). Bringing together artistic expertise across genres and mediums, DUBLAB is a Los Angeles-founded non-profit online radio station and community-based cultural institution that creates projects that are reflective of Los Angeles’ vibrant arts and culture scene.

DUBLAB’s The Orchestrina: A moving kaleidoscope of sounds from Los Angeles welcomes passengers entering and exiting the pedestrian tunnel between the West Gates and TBIT with an immersive sound art installation. The Orchestrina’s audio combines original instrumentations by 30 local artists to create an all-new composition complemented by glowing, atmospheric lighting.

Near The Orchestrina, a new exhibition of 13 works by pioneers of Southern California’s Light and Space movement (c. 1950–1970) titled Luminaries of Light and Space features sculptures by artists such as Fred Eversley, Helen Pashgian and Robert Irwin. Curated by DUBLAB and guest curator Laura Whitcomb of Label Curatorial, the exhibition presents a collection of serene works that encourage respite and reflection.  Ticketed travelers and employees of LAX can enjoy The Orchestrina and Luminaries of Light and Space through winter of 2024.

“The LAX Art Program is focused on showcasing talented artists from Southern California who represent the creativity of the region,” said Justin Erbacci, Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles World Airport. “This newly installed work and exhibition complement the path our guests travel to reach the West Gates and greatly enhance the passenger experience allowing our guests to discover the best of Los Angeles culture throughout their journey.”

The West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal, Passenger Tunnel


The Orchestrina by DUBLAB, installation view. Still from video by SKA Studios LLC., courtesy of Los Angeles World Airports. View of a moving walkway within a tunnel in an airport terminal with ambient blue light and some people seen from behind in the foreground.

The Orchestrina: A moving kaleidoscope of sounds from Los Angeles by Eli Welbourne of DUBLAB

Utilizing LAX’s acoustic design and sound system in the passenger tunnel that spans nearly 1,000 ft. between the West Gates and TBIT, DUBLAB developed an ambient sound art installation that broadcasts throughout the passageway to enhance the ambiance of the airport and provide a first impression of Los Angeles’ broad cultural offerings to passengers.

The sound art installation, which is the first of its kind at LAX, features a wide spectrum of artists from the Los Angeles region, bringing their individual instrumentations together through an audio system that randomly selects,modifies and plays five unique sound clips as guests and employees make their way through the tunnel. The audible result is an infinite range of cascading arrangements, musical movements and genre combinations creating a soundscape that is diverse yet cohesive, much like the cultural makeup of Los Angeles itself.

“Through our collaboration with DUBLAB, the LAX Art Program is excited to expand its programming and present its first immersive sound installation for the airport,” said Sarah Cifarelli, Art Program Director, LAX. “Using music and sound as universal languages, The Orchestrina brings together the eclectic music scene of Los Angeles to create an ever-changing sonic soundtrack to elevate the passenger journey.”

"The Orchestrina is a welcoming message for those arriving in Los Angeles, and a farewell song to those departing. It is a portal that highlights the creative spirit of the city and introduces passengers to the local artists that are part of our community. We hope The Orchestrina serves as a platform to expand our echo across the globe," said Alejandro Cohen, Executive Director, DUBLAB.

With 30 participating artists, The Orchestrina’s composition features original instrumentations from Los Angeles-based artists including: Afronauts, Black Nile, Byron Crenshaw, Cafe Ale, Chico Sonido, Celia Hollander, Dâm-Funk, Def Sound, Dwight Trible, Eli Welbourne, Fabio Kizambo, Fabiano do Nascimento, Gemma Castro, Green House, Jessica Pratt, Jimetta Rose, John Caroll Kirby, Jonathan Hepfer, Julia Holter, Ki Oni, Lucky Dragons, Mark Mothersbaugh, Molly Lewis, Mia Doi Todd, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Nailah Hunter, Qu'ran Shaheed, Sam Gendel, Suzanne Kraft and Teebs.

The West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal, Display Case


Luminaries of Light and Space by DUBLAB and Laura Whitcomb, installation view. Photo by SKA Studios LLC., courtesy of Los Angeles World Airports. Installation view of a large display case with a blue information panel to the left. Inside the display case are various sculptures and colored light with some blurry figures walking past.

Luminaries of Light and Space by Eli Welbourne of DUBLAB and guest curator Laura Whitcomb of Label Curatorial 

Artists: Peter Alexander, Larry Bell, Gisela Colón, Laddie John Dill, Fred Eversley, Robert Irwin, John McCracken, Helen Pashgian, Hap Tivey, and De Wain Valentine

Luminaries of Light and Space is an art exhibition that highlights the pioneers and innovators of one of Southern California’s most notable homegrown visual art movements, the Light and Space Movement. Spanning the late 1950s through the 1970s, artists of the Light and Space Movement explored how light, volume and scale affect a viewer’s perception using materials such as glass, resin, acrylic and fluorescent and neon lighting. Inspired by the aerospace industry and Southern California’s car and surf culture, the artworks of the Light and Space Movement are characterized by geometric and atmospheric qualities and are typically formed through meticulous attention to detail. By condensing the energy of light into sculptural mass, subtle endless space and refraction appear within the artworks’ Euclidean forms.

“The works on view represent minimalistic forms and when engaged with, create spectacular phenomena only visible to the naked eye. Photographic documentation is often unable to reproduce the works’ infinite arrangements of light and color as well as the refractions and nuanced spectral variants created by each artist,” said Laura Whitcomb, guest curator.

While the artists of the Light and Space Movement explored innovations of materiality forged by the mid-20th century, Luminaries of Light and Space extends the story of the movement to a new generation of creatives such as Gisela Colón who are using sustainable materials and renewable energy to create their works.

The exhibition is in memory of featured artist De Wain Valentine and the legendary fabricator and technical collaborator of many Light and Space artists, Jack Brogan. 

A link to high-resolution images and videos are available here.

Pyramid by Peter Alexander, cast polyester resin, 1969. Courtesy of private collection. Photo of a pink resin sculpture in the shape of a pyramid (top left). Untitled by Helen Pashgian, cast epoxy with resin, 2018. Courtesy of the artist, Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London. A photo of a spherical sculpture. The top half is bright green, and the bottom half has layers of various colors such as yellow, orange, red and purple (top right). Parabolic Monolith (Borealis) by Gisela Colón, Aurora particles, stardust, cosmic radiation, intergalactic matter, ionic waves, organic carbamate, gravity and time, 2021. Courtesy of the artist. A photo of a sculpture with a monolithic shape which narrows at the top. The sculpture seems transparent with a reflective quality which shines with a slight rainbow of colors (bottom left). Untitled Maquette (Mink/Lagoon) by Larry Bell, laminated glass, 2019. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth. A photo of a sculpture on a clear pedestal. The sculpture is a transparent grey glass box with a smaller transparent blue box seated within it. There are some slight blue reflections below and above the piece (bottom right). All photos by SKA Studios, LLC., courtesy of Los Angeles World Airports.