The making of Art in Bloom

Art in Bloom, SLAM’s annual festival of fine art and flowers, is the Museum’s largest event of the year. But how much do you really know about the popular festival?

Art in Bloom by the numbers

This year is the 18th Art in Bloom since 2000 (there were none from 2009 to 2013 during construction of the East Building or in 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).  

The 2024 event saw a record number of florist applicants, and 30 were selected to interpret works of art. 

Always the first weekend in March, Art in Bloom brings tens of thousands of visitors to the Museum every year. The highest recorded festival attendance was in 2020 (prior to the start of the pandemic) at 27,194. The 2023 festival, the first since the pandemic, attracted 24,640 visitors. 

A year of planning

The planning process for the next Art in Bloom begins almost immediately after florists disassemble and remove the previous year’s arrangements. Spearheaded by SLAM educators and event planners, staff from across the Museum help pull the festival together, from frontline staff assisting with visitor inquiries to registrars and conservators inspecting each and every floral arrangement to confirm they meet Art in Bloom guidelines.  

The safety of the art always remains the top priority during any Museum event so florists must abide by strict guidelines developed by registrars and conservators to ensure arrangements don’t compromise the safety of the objects or people in the galleries. The list of design policies clocks in at four pages, and it includes strict stipulations on containers, water, and materials—for example, stamens must be removed from pollen-heavy flowers; no soil is permitted; no fresh fruits, nuts, seeds, or vegetables of any kind are allowed; and water usage in the galleries is closely monitored and limited. Florists, however, are allowed to refresh the arrangements each morning of the festival to keep the flowers looking fresh all weekend.

Selecting the art

As soon as Art in Bloom concludes, the Museum begins the process of selecting art for the next year’s festival. While the floral arrangements are the draw of the festival, it is also an opportunity to showcase SLAM’s collection in a different light so works for interpretation are carefully selected.  An interdepartmental team led by Amanda Thompson Rundahl, SLAM’s director of learning and engagement, chooses works from the collection. These selections are based on several factors including the art’s location in the Museum and whether it has been featured in recent Art in Bloom festivals. Objects must be distributed across all three levels of the Museum and be on view in galleries that can accommodate large crowds. Some are chosen to offer creative challenges for the floral designers. The final list of artworks should reflect the diversity of the Museum’s global collection, and it should include several works that are new on view as well as old visitor favorites.

A competitive process 

Floral designers are selected through an open-call process, accessible to professional florists and garden clubs active in the St. Louis area. The application usually opens in October. Applicants must submit work experience, qualifications, and design approach, along with images of three work samples. They are then chosen through a blind review by judges from the Museum-wide Art in Bloom planning committee. Floral arrangements are judged on design, materials, and expression.

The selected florists attend an orientation meeting in early January where the detailed guidelines are explained. The florists draw a number that establishes the order in which they will select their artwork from a basket. There are audible cheers, gasps, oohs and aahs—and an occasional groan—as the artworks are revealed. Designers are free to trade assigned artworks among themselves. 

On the Thursday before the festival opens, the florists arrive onsite in staggered times. Museum staff carefully inspect all materials before floral arrangements are moved to their designated galleries where the florists complete the installation. Floral designers then make any final alterations before visitors enter the Museum the next day for Art in Bloom. 

Once the festival is complete, floral designers can pick up their arrangements on Monday morning. Or, the Museum contracts with a composting service for disposal of leftover organic materials.  

Find a full schedule of this year’s Art in Bloom here.