To celebrate their 100th anniversary, the National Park Service partnered with the U.S. Botanic Garden to launch an art contest for works portraying indigenous plants in any of our 400 national parks, in any medium.
Artworks by 78 artists were chosen from hundreds of entries showing off plants from such parts as Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Homestead National Monument of America, and Acadia National Park. The particularly iconic flora on display include giant sequoias, bald cypresses, saguaro cacti, mangroves, ghost orchids, and magnolias.
The show will run through October 2 in the Conservatory.
From left, Staghorn Sumac and Prickly Pear Cactus
The exhibit includes illustrations and paintings in a multitude of styles from watercolor and colored pencil to acrylics and oil paints; photographs; kirigami cut paper; scratch art; quilted appliqués; and other art forms ranging in size from intimate, 12-inch pieces to large-scale, 7-foot dramatic panoramas.
And don’t miss a unique art display while you’re there – floor graphics made from photos that park staffers took looking straight down to the ground in their park. Very cool!
U.S.Botanic Garden executive director Ari Novy says about the art: “We hope this exhibit will inspire people to explore and value plants in their native habitats, especially at our amazing national parks.”
The U.S. Botanic Garden is open to the public, free of charge, every day of the year from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Conservatory is located at 100 Maryland Ave. SW, on the southwest side of the U.S. Capitol. More information about the exhibit, programs, and visiting the USBG is available at www.USBG.gov/FloraoftheNationalParks.