MINNEAPOLIS, March 28, 2022—Art in Bloom, the annual celebration of art and flowers at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), is back on-site and in person for the first time in two years. This year’s event will take place April 28–May 1, 2022, and will coincide with the opening of “Floral Affair: A Bouquet for the Friends’ Centennial,” an exhibition that revisits artworks featured in past Art in Bloom events.
Presented by the Friends of the Institute, Art in Bloom will showcase more than 140 imaginative floral interpretations of selected works of art from Mia’s permanent collection, created by volunteer floral artists and commercial florists. During the four-day festival, everyone is invited to enjoy the fresh floral arrangements and commercial florist installations displayed in the galleries alongside the artworks that inspired them.
Highlights of this year’s event include:
• A featured talk by Lisa Michaux, PhD, a former Mia curator who will bring her unique perspective and engaging style to the topic of floral themes in art. She will illuminate masterpieces by a wide range of artists who adored the subject, including Vincent van Gogh, Édouard Manet, Georgia O’Keeffe, Henri Fantin-Latour, Claude Monet, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, and Eugène Delacroix. Thursday, April 28, 11 a.m. Tickets: $25
• Live floral demonstrations by Bachman’s floral artists. Saturday, April 30, 1 p.m. Tickets: $25
• Art in Bloom Family Event celebrating May Day with singing, dancing, and storytelling, plus a craft-making activity for kids to decorate a May Day headpiece with fresh flowers and colorful ribbons. Sunday, May 1, 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Free admission.
• Free, guided tours of the floral displays, held in person and virtually.
Art in Bloom is the principal fundraiser for Mia’s Friends organization, a group of members dedicated to supporting, enhancing, and sustaining Mia’s collections and programs. Proceeds from ticketed lectures and demonstrations provide the Friends’ with funds to pay for buses for tens of thousands of schoolchildren to come to the museum for field trips each year.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Mia’s Friends organization. To celebrate, the Friends have planned a special botanical exhibition that will open in the Cargill Gallery during Art in Bloom. “Floral Affair: A Bouquet for the Friends’ Centennial” revisits artworks featured in past Art in Bloom events.
The centerpiece of the show is the gorgeous still-life of dahlias painted by Eugène Delacroix, which Mia acquired with the help of a generous gift of funds from the Friends in celebration of their centennial.
The exhibition opens on Wednesday, April 27, and will be on view until August 14.
Visit the Art in Bloom page on Mia’s website for the complete 2022 Art in Bloom program and ticket information. Art in Bloom hours match the museum’s normal hours all weekend. General admission to Art in Bloom is free.
Art in Bloom and “Floral Affair” are made possible by lead sponsor Bachman’s and major sponsors Stifel and Artful Living with generous support provided by Lakewood Cemetery and the Galleria.