BOTANICAL STYLE BY DEBRA PRINZING PHOTOGRAPHY BY MISSY PALACOL
BAM in bloom. bellevue arts museum | bellevue, washington Inspired by popular floral exhibitions at art museums around the country, the Bellevue Arts Museum debuted BAM in Bloom in May 2023, its inaugural four-day event combining the power of art with the beauty of nature. Floral arrangements created by 10 floral designers, including nine Slow Flowers Society members, were displayed beside artworks found in the museum's galleries and Forum exhibition spaces. As BAM's new executive director, E. Michael Whittington had experienced successful floral-and-art events at institutions he previously led, and said he wanted to bring the concept to the greater Seattle area. "I did this most recently at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and it has become one of their largest events, one which has since become a significant fundraiser,"
HANNAH MORGAN, FORTUNATE ORCHARD WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM KEHINDE WILEY: MARECHAL FLORIANO PEIXOTO II
Whittington said. "An Art in Bloom event provides an
"I was so excited to be paired with
entry point for people who love flowers, who love art --
Kehinde Wiley‘s painting. Seeing
and who come to the museum to experience both."
the painting in person, and then
Whittington invited Slow Flowers Society to join BAM in
taking in the impressive scale and nuance was such an important part
STEPHANIE DOWNES, VANITA FLORAL WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM SCREENS: DYLAN NEUWIRTH
"The gesture and vibrance of flowers in conversation with the characteristics of mixed media art and audience
of the experience. In my flower arrangement, I did my best to reflect the color story of Wiley’s painting, the physicality, and perhaps even some of the intensity that his image conveys."
is pure purpose as a floral designer. BAM in Bloom was electrifying! The Vanita floral I created for this inaugural exhibition was made to illicit questions from the audience, challenge what are commonly considered 'pretty flowers,' and remind us that nature is micro and macro -- present in the vase and in incomparable scale in the stars." SLOW FLOWERS JOURNAL
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