Colors of Spring and
Plein-Air Invitational

Led by longtime plein-air master and friend of the Garden James Gurney, the Plein Air Invitational allows visitors to marvel at participating artists’ work interpretation of select Garden collections. Gurney is a dedicated outdoor sketcher, sharing his adventures and insights as he paints with gouache, watercolor, casein, and oils. Gurney and his fellow participants will be joined by the NYC chapter of Urban Sketchers, an international nonprofit dedicated to fostering a global community of artists who practice on-location drawing.

Participating artists include:

• Maryann Burton
• Mary Jo Carew
• Jared Cullum
• Noel Darvie
• Cynthia Dill
• Stephen Doherty
• Denise Dumont
• Elissa Gore
• Laura Gould
• Frank Guida
• James Gurney
• Jeanette Gurney
• Yuka Imata
• Karene Infranco
• Aki Kano
• Veronica Lawlor
• Jean Mackay
• Brad Marshall
• Lisa Palombo
• Margie Samuels
• Susan Story

Drop In and Draw
11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Lilac Collection

Everyone is an artist! Draw inspiration from the Garden as a plein-air artist would. Drop in, grab a stool and materials, and create an image of the Garden to take home. Instructors Mark Leibowitz (Saturday) and Naomi Campbell (Sunday) offer guided tips every half-hour.

The group’s diverse repertoire heavily features the works of notable Latin American composers like Astor Piazzolla, Mongo Santamaría, Aldemaro Romero, and Paquito D’Rivera, alongside the original compositions and arrangements of the quartet’s own members. Separately hailing from Venezuela, Argentina, Russia, and the Bronx, together these musicians give voice to a sound that is both rooted in tradition and entirely new. Sweet Plantain is the kind of multicultural chamber music group that can only be found in New York.

(Photo credit: Stefan Hansson)

Wander through our collections and encounter premier spring fashion designs by Bronx-based designers EDEN and Void Asylum with Bronx Fashion Week. Founder Flora Montes describes the work as “more than fabric” and she hopes that, like nature, fashion will be ever-changing.

Photograph by Ed Alvarez, Bronx Fashion Week Show.

Saturday

• Azalea Garden Tour
  11:30 a.m.
  Join us for a guided tour of the 11-acre site that offers an encyclopedic collection of the world’s azaleas planted along a broad hillside punctuated by rock outcrops and shaded by mature native trees.
• Signs of Spring Tour
  1 p.m.
  Join an NYBG Volunteer on a walk through the Thain Family Forest to scout for signs of warmer weather! Spring sights to be on the lookout for include wildflowers, buds on the forest floor and tree limbs, as well as wildlife.
  
• Trees of Asia Tour
  2:30 p.m.
  Explore the Garden landscape and learn more about Japanese maples, Tanyosho pines, and other trees native to Asia with an NYBG Tour Guide.

Sunday

• Azalea Garden Tour
  11:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m.
  Join us for a guided tour of the 11-acre site that offers an encyclopedic collection of the world’s azaleas planted along a broad hillside punctuated by rock outcrops and shaded by mature native trees.
• Signs of Spring Tour
  1 p.m.
  Join an NYBG Volunteer on a walk through the Thain Family Forest to scout for signs of warmer weather! Spring sights to be on the lookout for include wildflowers, buds on the forest floor and tree limbs, as well as wildlife.