Art in Bloom returns to the Minneapolis Institute of Art
An exhibit at Art in Bloom at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art
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Floral artist Amy Kubas' interpretation of Egret in Rain by Ohara Shōson at Art in Bloom at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Courtesy of Amy Kubas
Thursday marks the first day of Art in Bloom at the Minneapolis Institute of Art! The four-day festival is free and showcases floral interpretations of art from the MIA’s permanent collection, created by more than 100 professional and amateur florists.
It’s the 41st year of Art in Bloom. For many, it’s a sign that spring is officially here and warm weather is here to stay. Art in Bloom Chair Sharon Secor and floral artist Amy Kubas joined Minnesota Now to talk about the exhibit.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
NINA MOINI: Today marks the first day of Art in Bloom at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The four-day festival is free and showcases floral interpretations of art from the MIA's permanent collection, created by more than 100 individual and commercial florists. It's in its 41st year of Art in Bloom. And for many, it's an official sign that spring is here and warm weather is here to stay. Joining me today is Sharon Secor, the Art in Bloom chair at MIA and Amy Kubas, one of the artists that Art in Bloom. Thank you both for joining us today. I'm sure you're very busy.
AMY KUBAS: Thank you for having us.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, well, Thanks for taking the time. Sharon, for starters, could you tell folks a little bit more about Art in Bloom if they've never been.
SHARON SECOR: Well, as you mentioned, Art in Bloom is in its 41st year. And it is a celebration of floral art. So I don't know how many of your listeners know, but what you do is you go to MIA and you're able to see interpretations of different MIA art by creative floral people in the community.
And those range from people who really don't have a background in floral art to commercial floral artists as well. And it's a wonderful four-day event. It's the unofficial welcome to spring in Minnesota, and it's also the largest fundraiser for the museum by the friends of the Institute.
NINA MOINI: And Amy, so you are one of the creators this year, correct? Can you tell me a little bit about what painting and what flowers you're using.
AMY KUBAS: Yes. So this will be my eighth year of participation. I am doing a Japanese block print called Egret in Rain. So this year I am doing a very simplified arrangement of some anthurium and then some sea star fern. So just trying to emulate some of the shapes and colors from that block print.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Tell me a little bit more about how you would even decide what direction to go in when you're looking at art and then trying to convert it or interpret it into a floral arrangement.
AMY KUBAS: Yeah. I always love to think about some of the symbolism behind the artist's intention within the piece, as well as mirroring that with some symbolism within the flowers that I choose. With this particular piece, I also really love to emulate some of the texture within the florals that I chose as well. So there is almost an embossing effect that is in the block print that I'm doing this year. So I chose to do these waxy flowers that tend to have a good amount of veining in them as well.
NINA MOINI: Cool. I mean, is this-- so you've been doing it eight years, Amy? So I'm assuming you enjoy it. Is it something different than what you would normally be doing or what do you like about it?
AMY KUBAS: I do, yeah. It is not a medium that I work with often. So to have that creative expression or creative challenge with something like a natural and organic material is a really fun way for me to challenge some creative juices or energy.
NINA MOINI: And just really quick, Amy, what type of art do you typically do?
AMY KUBAS: So you do not have to be an artist to do this. But I am a designer by trade. So my background comes from industrial design
NINA MOINI: Cool.
AMY KUBAS: And I specialize in product design for accessible design for people with disabilities.
NINA MOINI: OK, Cool. And Sharon, you and Amy were saying don't have to be a full-blown, full-time time artist to be participating. But how do you decide what artists get to do when and which paintings to use?
SHARON SECOR: We have a wonderful group of volunteers who partner with the museum every year to pick out the artwork and along with the curatorial staff at the museum. And Amy can probably explain this a little bit better, but the PFA and CFA volunteers then hold a meet your match every year for people who volunteered to be a PFA or a CFA. And you get to pick out the artwork you'd like to work with every year. So there are several levels of creativity within the museum and within the floral artists themselves.
NINA MOINI: And what-- Sharon, do you have any rules to or ways to protect that work? I mean, over the four days. How does that work with the floral arrangements?
SHARON SECOR: That's a great question because actually there are a lot of rules that the museum asks us to stick to
NINA MOINI: Sure.
SHARON SECOR: And we have a lot of security, but we also have a lot of really wonderful people like Amy who've been doing this for a long time. And they know not to leave the flower petals all over the floor or not clean up after yourself when you pour water in every morning. After 41 years, we're really good at everybody knowing and sticking to the rules about keeping everything safe.
NINA MOINI: Sure. Amy, what are those four days like for you when you're surrounding your artwork?
[CHUCKLES]
AMY KUBAS: Yeah. It's honestly great fun as a volunteer. You get to meet so many people that are coming through inspired by art. And it's a wonderful conversation piece to be able to talk about not only the original artist's intention, but then the floral artist's interpretation and some of the significance behind what they chose to put together for that.
NINA MOINI: Sure. So Sharon, if somebody did want to participate in next year's Art in Bloom, what does that process look like?
SHARON SECOR: It's as simple as going to the arts media website and finding information on Art in Bloom. There's always something up there throughout the year, and what is on the website changes throughout the year as well. So right after this year's Art in Bloom ends, we will have instructions about how to volunteer or sign up for a space in next year's, the 2026 Art in Bloom. So there's a lot of information there, and I'd encourage anybody who's interested in this to go there and read through now while this is going on and then also later to get instructions.
AMY KUBAS: Sure. And I'm curious to know, Sharon, if you have a favorite piece this year or anything special you're looking forward to.
SHARON SECOR: I'm actually looking forward to the family day event. That takes place on Sunday afternoon, and we've come up with a fun children's opportunity to be their own little floral artists. In one of the community rooms, they will be making little May Day baskets. And there will be folklorico dancers. It's a lot of fun to see kids come into the museum and experience this kind of creativity that Amy has been talking about, and to see them open up to the possibilities of being in a place like MIA.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. What about you, Amy? Do you think that-- do you have a specific reaction that you love to see in people? Or what kind of keeps you coming back?
AMY KUBAS: Yeah. It's always great to get that banter between the public and the volunteers of what they see in the artwork and how they interpret not only the artists kind of impression or experience with the piece, but also the floral interpretation. Being able to have some of those conversations just side-by-side with the public is always so inspiring. You always get another point of view, and it's always great to see how someone else views an artwork in their own terms.
NINA MOINI: Sure. Sharon, before we go, let us know how people can come to see it. It is free, correct?
SHARON SECOR: It's free, literally. Drive, or take an Uber, or have somebody drop you off. We are open till 9 o'clock tonight. The museum is open a little later than usual on Thursdays. And I would suggest that if you don't want to run into too much parking, too many parking issues, that coming early. Or later in the day are great times to come. We have cafes open. There are going to be food trucks available. There's a lot to do, including the wonderful, wonderful floral art.
NINA MOINI: Awesome. I like that you shared too that it's for all ages and a great family event. Sharon and Amy, thank you so much for coming by. Appreciate it and have fun.
SHARON SECOR: Yeah. Thank you so much.
AMY KUBAS: Of course. Thank you.
NINA MOINI: Thank you. That was Art in Bloom chair, Sharon Secor and Amy Kubas, one of the floral artists participating. I'm Nina Moini. This is Minnesota Now. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
AMY KUBAS: Thank you for having us.
NINA MOINI: Yeah, well, Thanks for taking the time. Sharon, for starters, could you tell folks a little bit more about Art in Bloom if they've never been.
SHARON SECOR: Well, as you mentioned, Art in Bloom is in its 41st year. And it is a celebration of floral art. So I don't know how many of your listeners know, but what you do is you go to MIA and you're able to see interpretations of different MIA art by creative floral people in the community.
And those range from people who really don't have a background in floral art to commercial floral artists as well. And it's a wonderful four-day event. It's the unofficial welcome to spring in Minnesota, and it's also the largest fundraiser for the museum by the friends of the Institute.
NINA MOINI: And Amy, so you are one of the creators this year, correct? Can you tell me a little bit about what painting and what flowers you're using.
AMY KUBAS: Yes. So this will be my eighth year of participation. I am doing a Japanese block print called Egret in Rain. So this year I am doing a very simplified arrangement of some anthurium and then some sea star fern. So just trying to emulate some of the shapes and colors from that block print.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. Tell me a little bit more about how you would even decide what direction to go in when you're looking at art and then trying to convert it or interpret it into a floral arrangement.
AMY KUBAS: Yeah. I always love to think about some of the symbolism behind the artist's intention within the piece, as well as mirroring that with some symbolism within the flowers that I choose. With this particular piece, I also really love to emulate some of the texture within the florals that I chose as well. So there is almost an embossing effect that is in the block print that I'm doing this year. So I chose to do these waxy flowers that tend to have a good amount of veining in them as well.
NINA MOINI: Cool. I mean, is this-- so you've been doing it eight years, Amy? So I'm assuming you enjoy it. Is it something different than what you would normally be doing or what do you like about it?
AMY KUBAS: I do, yeah. It is not a medium that I work with often. So to have that creative expression or creative challenge with something like a natural and organic material is a really fun way for me to challenge some creative juices or energy.
NINA MOINI: And just really quick, Amy, what type of art do you typically do?
AMY KUBAS: So you do not have to be an artist to do this. But I am a designer by trade. So my background comes from industrial design
NINA MOINI: Cool.
AMY KUBAS: And I specialize in product design for accessible design for people with disabilities.
NINA MOINI: OK, Cool. And Sharon, you and Amy were saying don't have to be a full-blown, full-time time artist to be participating. But how do you decide what artists get to do when and which paintings to use?
SHARON SECOR: We have a wonderful group of volunteers who partner with the museum every year to pick out the artwork and along with the curatorial staff at the museum. And Amy can probably explain this a little bit better, but the PFA and CFA volunteers then hold a meet your match every year for people who volunteered to be a PFA or a CFA. And you get to pick out the artwork you'd like to work with every year. So there are several levels of creativity within the museum and within the floral artists themselves.
NINA MOINI: And what-- Sharon, do you have any rules to or ways to protect that work? I mean, over the four days. How does that work with the floral arrangements?
SHARON SECOR: That's a great question because actually there are a lot of rules that the museum asks us to stick to
NINA MOINI: Sure.
SHARON SECOR: And we have a lot of security, but we also have a lot of really wonderful people like Amy who've been doing this for a long time. And they know not to leave the flower petals all over the floor or not clean up after yourself when you pour water in every morning. After 41 years, we're really good at everybody knowing and sticking to the rules about keeping everything safe.
NINA MOINI: Sure. Amy, what are those four days like for you when you're surrounding your artwork?
[CHUCKLES]
AMY KUBAS: Yeah. It's honestly great fun as a volunteer. You get to meet so many people that are coming through inspired by art. And it's a wonderful conversation piece to be able to talk about not only the original artist's intention, but then the floral artist's interpretation and some of the significance behind what they chose to put together for that.
NINA MOINI: Sure. So Sharon, if somebody did want to participate in next year's Art in Bloom, what does that process look like?
SHARON SECOR: It's as simple as going to the arts media website and finding information on Art in Bloom. There's always something up there throughout the year, and what is on the website changes throughout the year as well. So right after this year's Art in Bloom ends, we will have instructions about how to volunteer or sign up for a space in next year's, the 2026 Art in Bloom. So there's a lot of information there, and I'd encourage anybody who's interested in this to go there and read through now while this is going on and then also later to get instructions.
AMY KUBAS: Sure. And I'm curious to know, Sharon, if you have a favorite piece this year or anything special you're looking forward to.
SHARON SECOR: I'm actually looking forward to the family day event. That takes place on Sunday afternoon, and we've come up with a fun children's opportunity to be their own little floral artists. In one of the community rooms, they will be making little May Day baskets. And there will be folklorico dancers. It's a lot of fun to see kids come into the museum and experience this kind of creativity that Amy has been talking about, and to see them open up to the possibilities of being in a place like MIA.
NINA MOINI: Yeah. What about you, Amy? Do you think that-- do you have a specific reaction that you love to see in people? Or what kind of keeps you coming back?
AMY KUBAS: Yeah. It's always great to get that banter between the public and the volunteers of what they see in the artwork and how they interpret not only the artists kind of impression or experience with the piece, but also the floral interpretation. Being able to have some of those conversations just side-by-side with the public is always so inspiring. You always get another point of view, and it's always great to see how someone else views an artwork in their own terms.
NINA MOINI: Sure. Sharon, before we go, let us know how people can come to see it. It is free, correct?
SHARON SECOR: It's free, literally. Drive, or take an Uber, or have somebody drop you off. We are open till 9 o'clock tonight. The museum is open a little later than usual on Thursdays. And I would suggest that if you don't want to run into too much parking, too many parking issues, that coming early. Or later in the day are great times to come. We have cafes open. There are going to be food trucks available. There's a lot to do, including the wonderful, wonderful floral art.
NINA MOINI: Awesome. I like that you shared too that it's for all ages and a great family event. Sharon and Amy, thank you so much for coming by. Appreciate it and have fun.
SHARON SECOR: Yeah. Thank you so much.
AMY KUBAS: Of course. Thank you.
NINA MOINI: Thank you. That was Art in Bloom chair, Sharon Secor and Amy Kubas, one of the floral artists participating. I'm Nina Moini. This is Minnesota Now. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
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