Don’t be surprised if your next journey through San Diego International Airport (SAN) includes an interview about travel that is turned into poetry. Now through April 29, the airport’s Spring 2025 Performing Arts Resident, Poets Underground, will be onsite in the terminals at their luggage-inspired stage called The Great Poetic Baggage Exchange. The artists invite travelers to engage in conversations and live-painting of murals centered around five travel-inspired themes: Adventure, Baggage, Connection, Checkpoint, and Rise.
Poets Underground is a San Diego-based LLC and non-profit, comprised of a husband-and-wife team who create and foster healthy inclusive communities through the arts, poetry and storytelling. The stories the poets gather at SAN will inspire original poems—shared back with passengers as spoken word, written word, and visual poetry. Select poems will be featured in three culminating airport performances on May 2, 6, and 8. The works will also be compiled into an anthology, preserving these creative exchanges and the spirit of travel in poetic form.
“Partnering with performing groups like Poets Underground is one of the innovative ways SAN aims to create an exceptional airport experience for our community,” said Hampton Brown, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer. “Passengers can have their experience turned into something inspirational and at the same time get a taste of the local performing arts scene.”
SAN’s Arts Program launched its Performing Arts Residency Program in 2016. The Performing Arts Residency Program supports the development and public performance of new work. It offers artists the space to create and rehearse new material while providing SAN patrons a unique opportunity for interaction through the performing arts.
To view the Performing Arts Residency schedule, please click here. For more information about the Airport Performing Arts Residency Program, please click here.
** FOR PHOTOS OF THE POETS UNDERGROUND AT THE AIRPORT, CLICK HERE. **
ABOUT POETS UNDERGROUND
Sunny Rey Azzarito and Anthony Azzarito are Poets Underground, a San Diego-based LLC and non-profit, who create and foster healthy inclusive communities through the arts. Their outreach programs and curated events elevate voices, spark creativity, and promote mental wellness. Poets Underground is not just a community hub, but a vibrant tapestry of voices and stories woven together by the transformative power of poetry. Their curated events, workshops, and outreach programs are designed to do more than just entertain—they are crafted to elevate voices, spark creativity, and promote mental wellness. They believe that poetry is for everyone and strive to create a welcoming space where poets and poetry lovers of all backgrounds can come together to connect, learn, and grow.
ABOUT SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (SAN)
Owned and operated by San Diego County Regional Airport Authority (Airport Authority), San Diego International Airport (SAN) is one of the busiest single-runway commercial service airports in the world and the third-busiest airport in California. SAN contributes nearly $12 billion in economic activity for the region by connecting the world to San Diego and San Diego to the world. In November 2021, the Airport Authority began construction on the New T1 which includes the replacement of the current Terminal 1, improvements to the airfield, improved transportation connectivity to the airport, and a new administration building. The New T1’s project budget is $3.8 billion and is estimated to create between 15,000 to 20,000 construction-related jobs. For more information about the New T1 please visit newt1.com. For more information about SAN please visit san.org.