Salvador Bahia Airport Celebrates 40 Years of Axé with Live Painting by Elano Passos

· The panel was created in the arrivals area this Thursday (27)
· The initiative highlights Bahian culture and welcomes passengers with art inspired by Axé Music

February 2025 – Salvador Bahia Airport, a member of VINCI Airports, held a live painting session this Thursday (27) with artist Elano Passos (@elanopassos) to celebrate 40 years of Axé Music. The panel was created live in the boarding hall, showcasing visual elements that represent the history and importance of the rhythm to Bahian culture.

Live painting is an interactive artistic experience that allows the public to follow the creation of a work in real time. During the session, Elano Passos brought the canvas to life with references to Axé Music, expressing the energy and strength of the musical movement. The panel is now part of the airport's space, connecting passengers to Bahia's cultural identity from the moment they arrive.

“Salvador Bahia Airport is committed to valuing local culture, and Axé Music is a movement that represents the energy and identity of Bahia. Bringing this tribute to a space of arrivals and departures is a way to celebrate this history and welcome passengers with art and culture,” says Daniela Franco, Communication Manager at Salvador Bahia Airport.

This is not Elano Passos' first work at the terminal. Together with photographer Will Recarey, he also co-created the permanent exhibition Salvador – Traços e Olhares. Located in the boarding area, the exhibition aims to showcase their representations of Bahia’s cultural manifestations to those arriving at Salvador Airport.

For the artist, the panel tells a story through elements from the early days of Axé. “It was an honor to pay tribute to the 40 years of Axé Music with a wonderful panel inside Salvador Airport. It’s a panel that, when you look at it, you start to see a story—but it has no end, because the story of Axé has no end either. So we brought elements from the beginning, with Luiz Caldas, Carlinhos Brown, the meeting of trios, and the blocos afros,” said Elano Passos after the live painting.

About Elano Passos

Elano Passos is a visual artist whose work translates daily life, places, and memories through lines. With a background in digital design, he has illustrated album covers for artists such as Saulo and Luiz Caldas, as well as books like Poesia que Transforma by Bráulio Bessa. At Salvador Bahia Airport, he is also the author of the permanent exhibition Salvador – Traços e Olhares. He has participated in social projects, including designing a charitable print for the canonization of Saint Dulce of the Poor and a collection of solidarity plates. Elano is a creative and restless artist, with a unique style and art that are essential to telling and leaving stories wherever he goes.

About Salvador Bahia Airport

Located in the capital of the state of Bahia, Salvador Bahia Airport is the first VINCI Airports concession in Brazil, which assumed its operation on January 2, 2018. Since then, Salvador Airport has adopted global operational standards, aiming to offer more efficiency, safety, and a better travel experience for its passengers. With an investment of BRL 700 million in modernization and terminal expansion works, the airport increased its capacity by 50%, now serving up to 15 million passengers per year. It has also been recognized with the Ethnic-Racial Diversity Seal by Salvador’s Municipal Secretariat for Reparations for its initiatives to combat institutional racism. Salvador Bahia Airport also stands out as the “Most Sustainable Airport in Brazil,” leading environmental preservation actions.

About VINCI Airports

VINCI Airports, the world leader in private airport operations, operates more than 70 airports in 14 countries. With its expertise as a global integrator, VINCI Airports develops, finances, builds, and manages airports, providing its investment capacity and know-how in optimizing operational performance, modernizing infrastructure, managing operations, and supporting environmental transition. VINCI Airports was the first airport operator to commit to an international environmental strategy in 2016, aiming to achieve net zero emissions across its entire network by 2050.

For more information: www.vinci-airports.com

@VINCIAirports https://www.linkedin.com/company/vinci-airports/