If you’re like most frequent travelers, your primary focus when passing through an airport is to get from Point A to Point B as easily, as directly and as quickly as possible. Sure, you’re aware of 21st-century offerings ranging from fine-dining venues to on-site spas, but when it comes down to it, you’ll choose getting to your destination — getting home — over lingering longer in between.

Now, imagine a Matrix-like moment. In the style of the 1999 sci-fi hit starring Keanu Reeves, the hectic pace continues all around you, but with heightened senses you see more, feel more; a flash of color on your left, a winged sculpture on your right.

While many airports boast displays tracing the history of flight or tributes to native sons, few lay claim to a collection as diverse and extensive as the public art showcased at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, a major canvas for the City of Chicago’s Public Art Program.

In November 2014, the Chicago Department of Aviation debuted the newest addition to its collection at O’Hare with the opening of City Windows. Created by Qiao Xiaoguang, director, Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Center at the Central Academy for Fine Arts in Beijing, the work comprises 15 windows depicting historic and contemporary landmarks in Chicago (Navy Pier and the Willis Tower) and Beijing (Forbidden City and CCTV Tower) done in traditional Chinese paper cut. Take a moment to ponder the intricate artwork. It’s located in Terminal 1 across from Gate B19.

On the Wings of Water Mosaic, created by the After School Matters program © Chicago Department of Aviation

Located in the Rotunda gallery between Terminals 2 and 3, the On the Wings of Water Mosaic is a 35,000-piece Venetian glass and tile mosaic depicting the ways in which travel by air and by water link cultures across continents. The mosaic is one of several works produced by After School Matters, a nonprofit organization offering Chicago teens access to innovative out-of-school programs in science, sports, technology, creative writing and nationally recognized gallery programs.

Another exhibit created by students participating in the After School Matters program, Songs of Chicago is a 40-foot-by-8-foot mural honoring Chicago’s legendary blues musicians including Koko Taylor, Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. The mural is located near the exit to baggage claim in the connector bridge between Terminals 1 and 2.

An artist well known for creating glass installations that uniquely reflect their environment, Guy Kemper crafted Jet Trails. Suspended from window mullions directly across from security checkpoint 3 in Terminal 1, the 50-foot-by-12-foot hand-blown glass sculpture captures the concept of flight in cool shades of blue, green and violet.

And that’s just the beginning. The Chicago Public Art Program curates more than 700 works of art at locations around the city, and O’Hare is one of its major display venues. Keep your eyes peeled as you rush from gate to gate or, if you have time to spare, seek out the masterful, whimsical, nostalgic displays hidden in plain sight.