Milwaukee Art Museum welcomes spring with annual Art in Bloom weekend

Milwaukee, Wis. – March 1, 2017 – The Milwaukee Art Museum is excited to again welcome spring with its popular annual Art in Bloom event, March 23–26. Presented by Educators Credit Union, Art in Bloom offers visitors a chance to see and take in the aromas of 40 art-inspired floral installations throughout the Museum. The displays are created by leading regional experts in gardening and floral and landscape design, and inspired by works from the Museum’s Collection.

Art in Bloom also features a floral fashion show, an artisan marketplace, a floral design competition, workshops, lectures and, new this year, High Tea. More than 10,000 guests visit the Museum each year for the four-day event.

“Art in Bloom is a beloved tradition and an extraordinary opportunity for Milwaukeeans to see art come to life through the amazing work of local floral designers,” said Marcelle Polednik, Ph.D., Donna and Donald Baumgartner director. “Visitors to this popular annual event are sure to leave the Museum feeling inspired and energized to embrace the new season.”

Special event ticket holders will see over-the-top gowns and accessories created entirely from flowers and foliage at Beauty in Bloom, the weekend’s popular after-hours floral fashion show, on Friday, March 24. This sell-out event, set in Windhover Hall, also includes the Art in Bloom Florist Awards, palate-pleasing appetizers and a cash bar.

The Iron Design Competition, presented by the Milwaukee Art Museum Garden Club, features three professional florists competing for the Iron Designer 2017 title on Saturday, March 25. In this timed competition, the participants receive the same materials and guidelines, but are challenged to incorporate their own inspiration and talents.

The weekend also features:

• Inspirational and informative presentations about design, flowers and food.
• Activities and workshops for all ages, including family activities in the Kohl’s Art Generation Studio and a book signing with award-winning author and illustrator Lois Ehlert.
• A marketplace featuring local vendors and artisans selling flowers, clothing, purses, jewelry, beauty products, garden accessories and more.
• Live music from local musicians, including the Milwaukee Guitar Quartet.

Presentations, lectures and workshops accommodate a wide range of interests, whether the participant be a foodie, gardener, or bride-to-be or is just looking for some creative inspiration. Program highlights include:

• Farm to Table Presentation and Dinner – Thursday, March 23, 6–8 p.m. This presentation features an informative lecture about farm-to-table, a social movement that reconnects diners to the land and the origins of their food, followed by a three-course dinner sourced from Wisconsin producers.
• Container Garden Hands-On Workshop – with Heidi Hornung – Friday, March 24, 2:30 p.m. Hornung, a Wisconsin native and European-inspired landscape architect, teaches participants how to create gardens inside crate containers as a versatile way to bring life to any space.
• Grow Your Own Groceries – with Antoine Carter from Groundwork Milwaukee– Saturday, March 25, 11 a.m. Attendees learn how to save money and eat healthier by bringing farm to table to their own backyards. Topics include how to design, plant and sustain vegetable gardens, community plots, raised beds and other growing spaces.
• Paper Flower Creation – with Kristin Joiner from 622 Press – Saturday, March 25, 11:30 a.m. Workshop participants learn to make stunning homemade blooms for a unique bouquet by cutting, forming and placing each petal and leaf by hand.

“We look forward to bringing such an activity-filled weekend to so many Milwaukee Art Museum visitors,” said Shannon Huot, senior vice president of marketing at Educators Credit Union. “There is no more beautiful, unique or refreshing way to welcome spring than Art in Bloom.”

Art in Bloom runs March 23–26. Hours are Thursday 10 a.m.–8 p.m. and Friday–Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tickets to Art in Bloom and related events can be purchased online at www.mam.org/bloom.

Art in Bloom is presented by Educators Credit Union, with additional support from S.J. Janis Company and media partner M Magazine.

About the Milwaukee Art Museum

Home to a rich collection of more than 30,000 works of art, the Milwaukee Art Museum is located on the shores of Lake Michigan. Its campus includes the Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, annually showcasing three feature exhibitions, and the Eero Saarinen–designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center and David Kahler‒designed addition. The Museum recently reopened its Collection Galleries, debuting nearly 2,500 world-class works of art within dramatically transformed galleries and a new lakefront addition. This reimagined space also allows for the presentation of additional changing exhibitions.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.