At Denver International Airport, the artist Detour created a colorful new piece out of used luggage

In The NoCo

At Denver International Airport, the artist Detour created a colorful new piece out of used luggage

By In The NoCo,

Ariel Lavery, Erin O'Toole, Brad Turner

Published February 7, 2025 at 5:35 AM MST

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The artist Detour, wearing a hat and a purple jacket, sits on the pedestrian walkway beneath his new art installation at Denver International Airport, which he created using 183 pieces of used baggage painted in the colors of the rainbow, representing the colors of Colorado sky. It is in the shape of an infinity symbol. — The artist Detour beneath his new art installation at Denver International Airport, which he created using 183 pieces of used baggage painted in the colors of the Colorado sky. "Because it has that infinity shape symbol... it basically references that, you know, our journey is never done. Airports are never closed. There's always a plane in the sky. There's always someone moving."

Travelers making their way through Denver International Airport can experience a colorful, .

The project, called 鈥淚t鈥檚 Not What You Take, It鈥檚 What You Bring Back,鈥� was created from 183 pieces of used luggage, suspended over a walkway in Concourse B. They鈥檙e painted in the vibrant colors of the Colorado sky 鈥� turquoise, baby blue, ruby red 鈥� and they form a shape resembling the infinity symbol.

That painted baggage is part of a new installation by Colorado artist Thomas Evans, better known as . He鈥檚 well known around Denver for his colorful murals of local sports legends like Denver Nuggets Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic.

Detour talked with Erin O鈥橳oole about what inspired his new art at DIA 鈥� and some of the stories behind the luggage.

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In The NoCo

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University鈥檚 NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family鈥檚 financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of KUNC鈥檚 new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS 暗黑爆料hour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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