The Orchid Show Returns to NYBG for its 20th Year
The 20th iteration of the annual Orchid Show comes to the New York Botanical Garden starting Feb. 18. The Orchid Show: Natural Heritage, designed by landscape artist Lily Kwong, features immersive installations with thousands of orchids.
Through Kwong’s design inspired by Chinese garden design and artistic principals, visitors will be transported and immersed in the magic.
Kwong’s design for Natural Heritage was inspired by her own culture and heritage.
“This exhibition’s design is my most autobiographical work to date,” Kwong said in a press release. “And the piece took shape through meditation and exploration of my ancestral roots stretching back generations to Shanghai.”
Utilizing a variety of orchids and inspired by classic Chinese mountainscape paintings passed down through her family from Shanghai, Kwong creates towering figures that envelop visitors and blend ecology, culture and fantasy.
Through the combination of Kwong’s heritage, medicinal traditions and the idea of nature as a healing force, Natural Heritage brings visitors into a world where nature and humanity coexist in harmony.
The horticulturalists and exhibitions staff members at NYBG have worked with Kwong to bring her vision to life by assembling selections of orchids native to Asian countries and companion plantings.
These displays are meant to be emotionally evocative and inspire visitors to reflect on their own plant heritage and ancestry.
“At a time when we are all starved for connection, the prayer of this installation is to offer a sense of community, reciprocity, and grounding into ancient wisdom and traditions that have guided us for millennia,” Kwong said. “Orchids are the perfect plant to draw people into the complexities of our relationships with the natural world and our vital roles nourishing those connections.”
Kwong is the first woman of color to take on the role of guest designer for the Garden’s Orchid Show, and she said because of this “it felt urgent to celebrate an Asian-centered perspective in the midst of this charged and precarious moment.”
“The piece is meant to offer a bridge of cultural understanding across the valley between us, and act as an invitation to celebrate the diverse lineages that make up our country,” Kwong said.
If you’re looking for a parents’ night out, see The Orchid Show on an Orchid Night, select evenings where adults over 21 can experience the exhibition with music, cash bards and food.
Psst… Check out “A Salute to Black Achievements in Music on Television” at Paley Museum.
