Courtesy of the Saint Louis Art Museum
Since its inception in 2000, the Saint Louis Art Museum's Art in Bloom has grown wildly popular. The weekend event, which asks designers to reimagine the museum's works of art using floral design, brings more visitors to SLAM than any other. Last year, it set a weekend attendance record with over 27,000 visitors.
To abide by COVID-19 prevention regulations, this year’s Art in Bloom, which begins March 3, is going virtual. Instead of flowers displayed throughout the galleries, the museum has created programming that will be available for streaming from the comfort of your own home.
As the museum's staff began to reconceptualize this popular event in the summer months, they realized the new format enabled them to do things that they weren’t able to before. “It does present an interesting opportunity," says Amanda Thompson Rundahl, director of learning and engagement. "We know that people will miss coming to the museum and that we won’t have fresh flowers in the galleries, but it does provide an opportunity to create an offering that includes favorites like floral arranging and local florists.”
One example of new programming in this format will be a tour of Urban Buds' farm in Dutchtown. “We can actually take Art in Bloom outside the walls of the museum," Rundahl says. "We couldn’t take 27,000 people to the farm, but we can take them there virtually, and that gives us a chance to spotlight a really unique local, urban farm.”
The Museum of Fine Arts Boston is considered to be the originator of the Art in Bloom concept, which now takes place annually at museums across the country. “It’s a way to highlight the artistry of flowers, the works of art in the museum, and the relationship between the two—the idea that fine art can inspire florists to interpret works in the collection,” says Rundahl. With that in mind, Sara Ward of Wildflowers will demonstrate how she conceptualizes and creates an Art in Bloom arrangement, and there will be a guided slow art experience featuring Kehinde Wiley’s Charles I. There’s even an art scavenger hunt and an art-making activity for the youngest patrons. There will be one live program, featuring Philip Hu, the museum’s Asian Art curator, who will discuss floral design and the symbolism on Chinese blue-and-white porcelain.
There are several member-exclusive events that are only available to museum members, but anyone can join so they don’t miss out on these events.
Art in Bloom programs will be available on the Saint Louis Art Museum website from March 3–31.
