OKCMOA preps for biggest ever Art in Bloom fundraising event

OKLAHOMA CITY — The annual Art in Bloom weekend at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art has become one of the most hotly anticipated city events of the springtime, and when it returns this month on April 11th through 13th, it’ll be growing to greater heights than ever before.

Each April, OKCMOA invites a selection of floral artists and arrangers to create their own flower art masterpieces inside of the museum galleries themselves, not only surrounded by the museum’s artworks, but actually inspired by their colors, contours, and themes.

Since the event’s inception just six years ago, it’s already become one of the museum’s most successful and heavily attended annual fundraising events, with thousands of visitors expected through the doors over just the single weekend that the floral sculptures are on display.

But this year, thanks to several high-profile exhibitions and shows led by the museum’s recent push to better showcase the full scope of its own collection, Art in Bloom will be taking over more of the museum’s galleries than ever before.

“Last year we had eight to ten florists participating in Art in Bloom,” Caitlin Graham, OKCMOA’s events manager and lead organizer for this year’s event, told Free Press. “This year, we have eighteen.”

Blossoming designs

With major exhibitions currently open across the museum’s galleries, this year’s floral artists have a wealth of inspiration to work from.

OKCMOA is currently featuring exhibitions highlighting the Oklahoma landscape, the work of Chicano artist Luis Jimenez, the newly redesigned Dale Chihuly gallery of glass works, and the current main attraction, “From the Vault: The 80th Anniversary Exhibition,” showcasing a huge portion of the museum’s sprawling permanent collection.

Each of those galleries will likely house a brand new, bespoke floral sculpture for just three days, embracing the transitory nature of spring itself and ushering in the new season.

“We really let it be a bit more florist-choice,” Graham said of which artworks would inspire this year’s arrangements. “We really wanted the florists to be inspired and to take ownership of which pieces they felt most connected to in the rooms, so we invited them into the galleries to really pick out their own pieces for inspiration.”

Of course, not every gallery currently presents a lot of options.

“Well, like the Rodin room,” Graham said, laughing, referencing the gallery space that currently houses only the mammoth “Three Shades” sculpture by Auguste Rodin. “There’s only one piece in that room, so that one was kind of self-determined.” 

But no matter how clear the inspiration, the final design and presentation of the floral pieces tend to remain a pleasant surprise even to the museum staff.

“We see sketches, but you really never know what they’ll look like until they come together for real, and that reveal is just such a great surprise,” said Graham. “And this year there are just so many, including an arrangment outside that’ll only be on display on opening night that’ll be built inside of a vintage Cadillac El Dorado. So that’s really going to be surprising.”

Expanding plans

This level of expansion for the event would be quite an undertaking for even the most seasoned Art in Bloom organizer, but for Graham, it’s something of a trial by fire.

“I just started this year, so this is actually my first time ever working on Art in Bloom,” she said. “I did actually attend it last year, though. I came for the weekend to kind of see the museum and see it all set up, and I was super enchanted by that experience. It was kind of what tipped me into wanting to be here.”

The scale of the event this year – not only for the three days showcasing the flower sculptures in the galleries, but also the huge schedule of tie-in classes, attractions, and parties throughout the weekend – has meant close collaboration across all of the museum’s departments.

“It’s been intimidating,” Graham said, “but there’s been so much support and so much outreach, and that’s been really great.”

Flowering events

But even as the floral sculptures themselves are the undisputed stars of the show throughout Art in Bloom weekend, the whole of OKCMOA will be buzzing with related events, attractions, and classes as well.

The weekend will feature guided tours and in-person discussions with some of the floral designers as well as one-time classes for everything from flowerpot-painting to floral screenprinting and even a kid-focused class over origami flower-making.

And of course, the annual Bubbles & Blooms champagne and cocktail party on the museum’s roof terrace, but in a stunning show of excitement for the weekend, that one is already sold out.

But if you were hoping to get in on a little of the imbibing action that comes with Art in Bloom, there’s a brand new featured event this year that might be interesting.

“Sunday night this year will actually feature a cocktail competition on the roof terrace with local bartenders competing with their own floral, springtime-inspired cocktails,” Graham said.

That event is sponsored by Guthrie’s WanderFolk Spirits as a showcase for their appropriately branded Garden Society gins and vodkas.

But even with drinks, competitions, and gala receptions, the primary focus for OKCMOA will always be the art.

“Because we’ll have all three floors of the museum open, this whole weekend is really just a great opportunity for people to see so much art and so many works that they maybe haven’t seen if they haven’t been here since the Edith Head exhibition last year,” Graham said. “And that’s really the most exciting thing.”

Art in Bloom at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art runs April 11th through 13th with numerous events and classes throughout the weekend.

Visit okcmoa.com for a complete calendar of events, event tickets, and museum admission.

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