That's a wrap for Art in Bloom 2023!

Art in Bloom arrived at the PMA just at the right time to get us out of the winter doldrums and feel the spring vibes

This year marked the largest Art in Bloom in recent history, with 21 floral designers creating art-inspired arrangements in the galleries. The designers brought their artwork inspirations to life with floral arrangements, and we were lucky enough to catch some of them in the galleries making their final touches!

The galleries bloomed with visitors all week to experience these arrangements. (Yes, the flowers smelled as good as they looked.) Audiences also enjoyed special floral programming including a centerpiece workshop with Katie Lovins of Clo Floral, auditorium programs with Wild Seed Project and Backyard Blooms, musical performances by Portland Symphony Orchestra and Katie Oberholtzer Quartet, and more.

Thank you to the over 5,000 visitors who explored the galleries and made this year’s Art in Bloom an event to remember! The energy and excitement continues with upcoming programs like Slow Art Day, Third Thursdays, Family Day, and more, so save the dates and register today.

Programs & Events
PMA Films: "Summer of '75"/"Sandblaster!": Jaws (1975) (Free screening in Congress Square Park)
Sep 11
PMA Films: "Summer of '75"/"Sandblaster!": Jaws (1975) (Free screening in Congress Square Park)

124 minutes. Rated PG. Directed by Steven Spielberg. In English.

The original summer blockbuster, Steven Spielberg’s iconic thriller screens for free in Congress Square Park. Screens as part of “Summer of ‘75” and “Sandblaster!,” a series of sand-tacular monster movies showing outdoors in September. Presented with SPACE Gallery and Friends of Congress Square Park.

Noontime Gallery Talk | "Painting Energy: The Alex Katz Foundation Collection at the Portland Museum of Art"
Sep 12
Noontime Gallery Talk | "Painting Energy: The Alex Katz Foundation Collection at the Portland Museum of Art"

Before the show closes on September 14, join us for a final look at this landmark exhibition, exploring its significance to the PMA Collection and the nuances around what Alex Katz describes as “painting energy” within his select works of art.

Drawing in the Galleries
Sep 12
Drawing in the Galleries

Visit the museum for drop-in drawing sessions in the galleries during Free Friday hours!  

Get creative! Join us every 2nd Friday for Drawing in the Galleries during Free Friday. We’ll provide the materials—you bring the inspiration! No experience needed, just drop in and sketch surrounded by art. 

Access for All on Third Thursday
Sep 18
Access for All on Third Thursday

Visit the museum for free all day with an ever-changing monthly party.

Noontime Curator Talk: Spotlight on Marguerite Thompson Zorach with Ramey Mize, Associate Curator of American Art 
Sep 19
Noontime Curator Talk: Spotlight on Marguerite Thompson Zorach with Ramey Mize, Associate Curator of American Art 

Join us for an intimate exploration of Marguerite Thompson Zorach’s Diana of the Sea, 1940. Zorach, a pioneering modernist, transformed everyday life into vibrant compositions of color, texture, and pattern, drawing on European modernism, American folk art, and her own innovative embroidery techniques.

PMA Films: "Summer of '75": Barry Lyndon (1975)
Sep 20
PMA Films: "Summer of '75": Barry Lyndon (1975)

185 minutes. Rated PG. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. In English. DCP.

Both arch and emotionally crushing, Stanley Kubrick’s singular, immaculately crafted epic screens as part of a series of landmark films from 1975.

PMA Films: "Sandblaster!": Tremors (1990) (Free screening in Congress Square Park)
Sep 23
PMA Films: "Sandblaster!": Tremors (1990) (Free screening in Congress Square Park)

96 minutes. Rated PG-13. Directed by Ron Underwood. In English.

The original summer blockbuster, Steven Spielberg’s iconic thriller screens for free in Congress Square Park. Screens as part of “Summer of ‘75” and “Sandblaster!,” a series of sand-tacular monster movies showing outdoors in September. Presented with SPACE Gallery and Friends of Congress Square Park.

Barnet Scholars Lecture: "David C. Driskell and the Legacy of Mentorship"
Sep 25
Barnet Scholars Lecture: "David C. Driskell and the Legacy of Mentorship"

Join us for the 2025 Barnet Scholars Lecture, a special evening honoring the lasting influence of David C. Driskell as artist, mentor, scholar, and visionary collector.  

Mindfulness in the Galleries
Sep 26
Mindfulness in the Galleries

Quiet your mind, relieve stress, and get into a contemplative mood with this 30-minute guided mindfulness session, held in the heart of the galleries. Take a pause in your day to reconnect through breath and stillness in a setting that invites presence and slow looking.

Noontime Gallery Talk: "The Drop Sinister" with Dr. Tess Chakkalakal
Oct 3
Noontime Gallery Talk: "The Drop Sinister" with Dr. Tess Chakkalakal

Dr. Tess Chakkalakal, Professor of Africana Studies and English, Bowdoin College; and author, A Matter of Complexion: The Life and Fictions of Charles W. Chesnutt 
Join Dr. Tess Chakkalakal as she introduces the life and works of the early 20th century Black author and intellect, Charles W. Chesnutt, whose writings explore race at the turn of the twentieth century. Dr. Chakkalakal will bridge connections between Harry Willson Watrous's The Drop Sinister—What Shall We Do with It (1913) and the emotional and political themes of racial passing and segregation within Chesnutt's works: The Marrow of Tradition (1901) and The House Behind the Cedars (1900). 

SOLD OUT | Course: “Picturing Maine: The Wyeth Family in Historical Context”
Oct 7
SOLD OUT | Course: “Picturing Maine: The Wyeth Family in Historical Context”

An immersive four-day class focusing on the Wyeth family and the artwork inspired by Maine’s natural beauty.  

Lecture | Patrick Bringley: All the Beauty in the World
Oct 16
Lecture | Patrick Bringley: All the Beauty in the World

Patrick Bringley, author of All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me, offers an insightful and moving talk about finding comfort and meaning in the beauty and solitude of art. Based on his decade as a guard at the Met Museum, Bringley’s memoir has been praised by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Associated Press.

 
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