Atlanta Sister City Cultural Artifacts on Display at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport
 

A display of cultural artifacts from Atlanta's Sister Cities opens this week in the Atrium of Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport in which the cities are taking turns to present objects representing their history and culture. The first cities to be featured, for a three month period, are Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Great Britain.

The Port of Spain display includes a number of carved wooden figures representing the Trinidadians at work and play, telling the story of the people that transported to the island as slaves or indentured laborers, and the musical instruments, such as the steel pan, for which the island is renowned. 

The display also includes a jewelry exhibit with a necklace and bracelet and other items. Photographs show Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival and marine and rural scenery.

The Newcastle-upon-Tyne display includes a number of items from museums in the Newcastle region that depict its industrial history, including a plate, jug and bowl that characterize collectible pottery from the North of England. The display includes an example of the first electric bulb used in Britain, made by the Swan Company in 1879 at the same time as Thomas Edison was working on similar ideas in the USA. The two companies later joined forces to form Ediswan. 

Also on display is a replica of the Davy Lamp, originally developed in 1815 to detect gas in coalmines. The Donald Lamp of 1900, which provided better illumination, is also on display along with engravings that depict Robert Stephenson’s High Level Bridge and images of lifeboats that were built along Tyneside.

The displays are located in two cases in the central Atrium of Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, adjacent to the ‘Clock Tower’.
 

For information contact the Atlanta Airport Art Program Tel: (404) 530 4289.
 

The Breton Shepherdess by Paul Gauguin from the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is part of the ‘Impressionism: Paintings Collected by European Museums’ at the High Museum of Art from 27th February to 16 May 1999.

Photographs below show the Sister City Airport Display Cases.