Putting spotlight on art for new midfield terminal:

Alpha Blackburn, president and CEO of Indianapolis-based Blackburn Architects Inc., has been involved with the midfield terminal project from the very beginning. As one of the owner’s technical representatives, Blackburn Architects serves as a sounding board for the general aesthetics of the building.

Blackburn, who has a master’s degree in fine arts, is now focused on something near and dear to her heart-overseeing the integration of artwork into the facility.

“I feel especially appreciative of the fact that my background has prepared me for this kind of involvement,” Blackburn said. “It feels good to be able to guide it. This project has generated the most buzz around our office because we know it is going to create a lot of regional excitement.”

After the Indianapolis cultural community weighed in on their expectations for the artwork, a national committee was selected to oversee the selection. Next, terminal locations that would showcase the artwork and compliment the building had to be identified and the construction professionals informed.

Blackburn calls the billion-dollar project “a new plateau” for her business
and other women-owned businesses.

“This project has been a tremendous opportunity for women to be involved shoulder-to-shoulder with men on the job in a way that many large construction projects don’t provide,” she said. “I think all of us who are involved see this as encouragement to other womenowned businesses, even if they’re not in construction or related fields. It is a new level of acknowledgement that women who own businesses of any description have capabilities that very often are overlooked.”