Flora in Winter Offers a Taste of Spring at the Worcester Art Museum
March 3 through March 6, 2022
Worcester, MA —Flora in Winter will be in full bloom this March, celebrating lively color and creativity at the Worcester Art Museum (WAM). This four-day extravaganza of flora and fauna kicks off Thursday, March 3, and continues through Sunday, March 6, with extended hours on Friday night.
One of the region’s most anticipated events of the year, Flora in Winter displays floral arrangements inspired by art from WAM’s encyclopedic collection.
Visitors can explore the galleries while encountering beautiful and dynamic floral designs by some of the area’s most talented floral artists for the 20th year.
This year’s theme, Love in Bloom, is influenced by the current exhibition, Love Stories from the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Related programming includes a range of demonstrations, workshops, tours, and more. Admission is free for Members, including Business Partners, $14 for Institutional Members, $28 for nonmembers, and $5 for youth 4-17. Additional costs apply for some related programming.
Visitors must purchase advance tickets and register for related programs at worcesterart.org. Proof of vaccination required for admission.
Flora is a time-honored tradition at WAM that still surprises and amazes visitors and staff alike. It is a welcome preview of spring and a riot of color during the cold grey months – all in celebration of art and collaboration. “Encountering something vibrant and creative in the dark of winter gives a feeling of joy and discovery,” says Marnie Weir, director of education and experience at WAM.
This year’s Flora in Winter co-chairs are Kim Cutler, Kathy Michie, and Sarah Ribeiro, with Committee Members Sally Jablonski and Julie Lapham. Their team oversees the event and maintains the Flora designs throughout the four days of tours and festivities. Flora in Winter is supported in part by the Bernard G. and Louise B. Palitz Fund and the Spear Fund for Public Programs.
Sponsored by: Workers Credit Union
Schedule of Programs and Events:
Virtual Tour of Flora in Winter
Members: free, Nonmembers: $15
Available Friday, March 4
A virtual guided tour of all 24 interpretive arrangements throughout the Museum will make the stunning beauty of Flora available for everyone to enjoy in the comfort of their own homes. Visit worcesterart.org for more information.
Thursday, March 3
Flora Live: Designing for the Goddess of Love
8:30-10am, Remastered Gallery
Members: $12, Nonmembers $40
Includes Flora admission; Online registration required.
Watch Kim Cutler and Michele Landes interpret Veronese’s Venus Disarming Cupid, a stunning painting featuring a young son’s mischief and his mother’s displeasure. Optional docent tour to follow.
Make your own Fascinator Workshop, with Julie Lapham
March 3 at 2pm (Members only), 3pm (general public) & March 4, at 11am (Members only), 12pm (general public). Studio 100.
Members: $5, Nonmembers: $10. Online registration required.
Try your hand at making a fascinator – an ornamental, sometimes whimsical style of millinery, frequently worn as a cocktail hat.
Blue Light Bandits
2pm, Renaissance Court
Free with Flora admission
Blue Light Bandits is an award-winning rock and neo-soul band based in Worcester, MA. Its members include Dan DeCristofaro (keyboards, vocals) and Ethan Bates (bass, vocals) of Massachusetts, Simon Adamson (drums) of Sweden, and Jay Faires (guitars, vocals) of Tennessee.
Friday, March 4
Lecture: Out-of-the-Box Flora, with Flora co-chair Kim Cutler
10:30am, Conference Room
Free with Flora admission; Online registration required.
In this illustrated talk, Flora co-chair Kim Cutler will explore and analyze the unusual, non-traditional, and out-of-the-box floral interpretations that imaginative designers have created over the years to surprise and delight visitors.
Arranging with the Holly Chapple Pillow Demonstration, with Sally Jablonski of Herbert E. Berg Florist
2pm, Library
Drop in demo. Free with Flora admission.
An alternate to floral foam, the Holly Chapple Pillow is an eco-friendly tool that helps you organize plant material in a vase.
Living Art Statues by Ten31 Productions
5-8pm, Renaissance Court and outside of the Love Stories gallery
TEN31 grew from a simple, powerful idea that art can be “brought to life” and provide emotionally inspiring entertainment. Enjoy this one-of-a-kind living art.
Mauro DePasquale’s JAZZED UP Trio
5:30-8pm, Renaissance Court
Free with Flora Admission
WAM is proud to present Worcester’s own JAZZED UP Trio, one of New England’s finest jazz recording artists featuring pianist/singer Mauro DePasquale performing with drummer Ed Conley and bassist Phill Madison.
Saturday, March 5
Lecture: The Art of Raising Flowers, with Matt Mattus
10:30am, Conference Room
Free with Flora admission; Online registration required
Join Matt Mattus as he shares some tricks and tips on raising old-fashioned and newly-introduced flowers. Whether you are a new gardener or an accomplished one, keep your notebook handy as Matt will be telling us his best secrets and bits of advice.
Ikebana Demonstration, with Tom Maney
2pm, Library
Drop in demo. Free with Flora admission.
Ikebana, the traditional art of Japanese flower arranging, highlights the use of asymmetrical form and “empty” space as an essential feature of the composition to express harmony among the material, the container, and the setting.
Worcester Children’s Chorus
Two concerts 2pm & 3pm, Renaissance Court
Free with Flora Admission
Members of the Bel Canto and Cantare ensembles of the Worcester Children’s Chorus in grades 6-12 will present music from J. S. Bach to the present day, around the theme of Love Stories. Pamela Mindell, artistic director; Ilana Joyce Cady, collaborative pianist.
Sunday, March 6
Leaf Manipulation Demonstration, with designer Thelma Shoneman
11am, Library
Drop in demo. Free with Flora admission.
Several weaving techniques will be demonstrated using both the aspidistra and lily grass, including the technique of weaving blades of lily grass together with decorative wire.
Lecture: Paired Portraits: Celebrating Love and Identity, with James Welu
1pm, Conference Room
Free with Flora admission; Online registration required.
Join James Welu, Director Emeritus of the Worcester Art Museum, as he explores the Museum’s collection of paired portraits of married couples. Learn the fascinating stories behind these portraits and what the artists’ depictions reveal about the subjects themselves.
Seele Musicale Chamber Ensemble
2pm, Renaissance Court
Free with Flora admission
A Flora in Winter favorite, the sublime Seele Musicale Chamber Ensemble performs love songs from the 17th through 20th centuries.
Hand Tied Bouquets Demonstration, with Sally Jablonski of Herbert E. Berg Florist
2pm, Library
Drop in demo. Free with Flora admission.
Watch and learn how to create a hand tied design by taking individual flower stems and arranging them directly in your hand to create a bouquet.
About the Worcester Art Museum
The Worcester Art Museum creates transformative programs and exhibitions, drawing on its exceptional collection of art. Dating from 3,000 BCE to the present, these works provide the foundation for a focus on audience engagement, connecting visitors of all ages and abilities with inspiring art and demonstrating its enduring relevance to daily life.
Creative initiatives— including pioneering collaborative programs with local schools, fresh approaches to exhibition design and in-gallery teaching, and a long history of studio class instruction—offer opportunities for diverse audiences to experience art and learn both from and with artists.
Since its founding in 1896, the Worcester Art Museum has assembled a collection of 38,000 objects: from the ancient Near East and Asia to European and American paintings and sculptures and continuing with works by contemporary artists from around the world.
WAM has a history of making large scale acquisitions, such as its Medieval Chapter House, the Worcester Hunt Mosaic, its 15th-century Spanish ceiling, and the Flemish Last Judgment tapestry.
In 2013, the Museum acquired the John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection, comprising two thousand arms and armor objects. It continues to commission and present new works, such as 2019’s exhibition, With Child: Otto Dix/Carmen Winant. For more information about the Worcester Art Museum, visit worcesterart.org
The Worcester Art Museum, located at 55 Salisbury Street in Worcester, MA, is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission is $18 for adults, $14 for seniors 65+ and for college students with ID.
Admission is free for Museum Members and children ages 0-17. On the first Sunday of each month (except Flora), admission is free for everyone.
Museum parking is free.
Proof of vaccination required for admission. Tickets may be purchased in advance at worcesterart.org