INTRODUCTION In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global lockdown
that followed, it becomes more important than ever for us to consider the ways in which we connect with others. As we began formulating
our ideas for this issue of Airport Road, our editorial board came to the
understanding that the pandemic has been an isolating and difficult time
for all, but that growth can come from that hardship. This issue’s unofficial theme of “inside” was born from this understanding—that despite, or
perhaps because of, the isolation and restrictions that fell upon us in a period so unprecedented and unstable, we’ve come to reflect on our contexts, on our situations, and on ourselves.
Returning to campus in fall 2021 was a relief, to say the least, and even a lifeline for many of us. That being said, the impact of two years of
enforced isolation from each other—and from the space that many could
consider a second home—didn’t disappear instantly. We still took classes over Zoom for the first two weeks of the semester, the Omicron variant
ravaged the world for months, and the pandemic has arguably changed
our generation’s ‘normal’ for good. This is why we believe that now more than ever, we need art to remind ourselves of how to connect through
difference and diversity. Whether this variety is shown through medium, language, subject matter or simply individual style, we at Airport Road
hope that the works we have compiled serve as comforting challenges that will help you think and feel beyond whatever walls confine you.
Our consideration of the idea of “inside” is twofold. First, it is a reflection of our physical situation over the past two years and the remnant of an
experience that will continue to affect us for years to come, even as we
walk out of the shadows of the pandemic and begin to rebuild. Second, it is an engagement with interiority, with identity, with the individual who
remains when external factors cease to exist. And so we asked: who are
7
