Karen Daubmann, Associate Vice President for Exhibitions and Public Engagement at the New York Botanical Garden, illuminates participatory art programs associated with exhibitions that develop conservation attitudes and activism among visitors.

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This session highlights the unique roles artists and art play in creatively inspiring, engaging, and empowering the public to care about nature, and take action to address today's critical ecological issues. Elayna Toby Singer shares strategies from...

This conifer exhibit created by Morton Arboretum is now available for download! These are great digital displays/panels that educate the public about the ecological and social importance of conifers. 

Based on local and national best practices for equity and inclusion work—and some promising applications in the local arts community—RACC has developed six building blocks to help organizations foster equitable access to the arts by increasing the...

Art sparks new dialogues and can simultaneously represent the past, present, and future, fostering connections and understanding across cultures. Gardens, parks, and public spaces continue to expand on traditional notions of art access and display,...

Studies show that only a small percentage of visitors who come to public gardens do so because of the specific plant collections. Most visitors come for educational programing, spiritual rejuvenation and quiet spaces, or even exercise. Art can be a...

Smithsonian Gardens launched their interpretive master plan, recurring exhibition series and, in particular, their inaugural exhibition, Habitat (2019–2020). These initiatives are collaborative efforts involving the entire Smithsonian Gardens staff. By...

Events are becoming increasingly important fundraisers and friendraisers for gardens of all sizes. This session will cover the nuts and bolts of creating a new event from the perspectives of three very different gardens—a large garden with a history of...

As cultural attitudes and mindsets shift ever more rapidly, how do botanical gardens stay relevant? Our collections, from living plants to herbarium specimens, represent an intrinsic part of botanical garden DNA. However, these collections are not...

Orchid, holiday, and other types of big shows and festivals are becoming increasingly popular ways to draw in visitors to public gardens. Pairing displays with interpretive messages under a theme allows us to tell a cohesive story with strongly...

How do gardens creatively bring new life to their annual exhibitions? Each year gardens across the country feature annual experiences that have become a staple for their organization. These exhibitions might manifest themselves as an annual orchid show...

This presentation from the 2018 annual conference covers common materials and objects found in public gardens as well as means of deterioration and damage and some suggestions for remediation. The speaker focuses on artworks and decorative elements and...

This guidebook was developed out of strong evidence that audience research can strengthen audience-building initiatives by helping institutions understand how to build meaningful connections with different groups. Based on work with a diverse set of...

An interdisciplinary field trip to a remote marine lab joined graduate students from fine arts and natural resource science departments to think creatively about the topic of climate change and science communication. We followed a learning cycle...

Artist in Residence programs have been popular in the art world for some time, but few gardens take advantage of this opportunity. Residency programs can provide institutions with new ways of looking at their living and non-living collections, develop...

This presentation will show the profound role that art, science, and technology play in building ecological literacy and resilience. Presented by award-winning landscape architect and educator, Roberto Rovira...

Join your garden colleagues of small, university, and large gardens as they share their creative success stories in a lively and focused “rapid fire” session. Each presenter must tell his/her story in six...

Exhibits in public gardens keep perspectives fresh, use spaces in new ways, attract new audiences, and much more. But they can also strain resources such as time, money, and staff capacity. Licensing a...