Art Shows
Art Show Sponsors
Blossoms has initiated two art programs, Blossoms 2024 Plein Air to Prepare and Blossoms 2025 Countywide Art Show. Both events have been created with a “blossoms” theme to celebrate the pink and white cherry, redbud and dogwood trees that bloom each spring in Howard County.
Blossoms of Hope has planted more than 2,900 trees over the past 19 years and in honor of its 20th anniversary in 2025, Blossoms of Hope and the Howard County arts community have joined forces to create the first ever Countywide Art Show. This Art Show will be displayed in galleries and other spaces (Recreation and Parks locations, Savage Mill, and the Welcome Center, to name a few) throughout the month of March 2025.
When can you see the famous pink and white blossoms? NOW! In order to experience the beauty, we have created a month-long plein air event, Blossoms 2024 Plein Air to Prepare. As the name states, this plein air event will showcase the blossoms and get artists out into one (or more) of Blossoms' 52 groves to prepare for the 2025 Countywide Art Show. Since this will be the last opportunity before the Countywide Art Show, make sure to be a part of the beauty of the blossoms!
Each event will provide an opportunity to display and sell the art that local artists create. For more information on each, click the buttons below.
Plein Air to Prepare
This spring, artists will be able to head into any of Blossoms of Hope's 52 tree groves and draw inspiration from pink and white blossoms that will bloom between the months of April and May. Watch our website for a countdown to the two weeks the trees will most likely be in bloom.
Check back often as there will be opportunities to learn from and watch local artists at select groves. There will also be meet up opportunities posted as the dates draw closer.
This event is to prepare artists for the 2025 Countywide Art Show, as implied by its title.
Please note: See the blossoms THIS spring, even if you only plan to participate in the Countywide Art Show. Peak bloom is between April and May, and the countywide show is in March of 2025 (not allowing for artists to draw inspiration from the trees in-person in 2025).
If you have questions, please email info@blossomsofhope.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
During the Blossoms 2024 Plein Air to Prepare, artists are "preparing" for two things:
- The Plein Air to Prepare exhibit, at which artists may* have their work displayed, and
- The Countywide Art Show in March 2025, at which Plein Air participants will be eligible to submit new or resubmit their artwork.
*The Plein Air to Prepare exhibit will be juried, so we cannot guarantee that each artist's work will be featured in the exhibit.
You will need to register for the Plein Air to Prepare event in order to participate in the Plein Air to Prepare exhibit.
You can register for the Plein Air to Prepare event here.
Once an artist announces that they will be doing a workshop in one of our groves, you will be informed by email of the workshop details.
Click here or visit the link below to sign up for artist workshops:
After you have registered for the Blossoms 2024 Plein Air to Prepare on Call for Entry (CaFE), you will receive an invitation register for the Exhibit.
Your submissions should be no larger than 24"x24".
If you have registered for the Plein Air to Prepare event, it is free to submit art to the Plein Air to Prepare exhibit.
If you have not registered, it costs $20 to submit art for the Plein Air to Prepare exhibit.
The Blossoms 2024 Plein Air to Prepare Exhibit will feature approximately 60+ pieces of 2-D artwork at The Welcome Center on Main St. in Ellicott City, MD (one location).
The Blossoms 2025 Countywide Art Show, held during the month of March 2025, will feature hundreds of art pieces, in all mediums, at 26+ different Howard County locations. The theme for this show will be pink and white blossoms. With this event, we are not just honoring the trees but we are bringing the art community together through Howard County.
It is Blossoms of Hope’s (BOH) mission to have local artists experience and create art depicting the Kwanzan and Okame cherry, redbud and Native Dogwood trees that blossom each spring in Howard County. These pink and white flowering trees were planted by Blossoms of Hope over the last 20 years to enhance our quality of life through beautification projects and by supporting our community. Groves of trees are located along our state and county roadways, in parks, at local libraries, as well as at private and government buildings.
Many individual trees have been planted or sponsored in memory or in honor of someone special. This plein air event and exhibition serves as a platform for visual artists to contribute their creative expressions of the Pink Blossoms theme toward a meaningful cause.
