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Museums Around the World Are Sending Each Other Flower Bouquets to Spread Joy on Social Media

Photo credit: Henri Fantin-Latour/Martin Johnson Heade
Photo credit: Henri Fantin-Latour/Martin Johnson Heade

From Veranda

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, cultural institutions around the world have closed their doors in an effort to help stop the spread of COVID-19. With art aficionados unable to visit, museums have developed innovative ways to share their inspiring collections and the joy they spark for viewers through in-depth virtual tours, audio guides, and their social media channels.

Last week, the hashtag #MuseumBouquet began popping up all across Twitter with galleries and museums sending colorful images of flowers depicted in paintings, drawings, renderings, sculpture, and photography to each other. The trend began as a collaboration between the New-York Historical Society and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden after Hilary-Morgan Watt, Digital Engagement Manager of Hirshhorn Museum, saw a friend share an “unboxing” video of flowers she received on social media.



“I was brainstorming how museums could do a version of that to send cheer online and add a bright spot to someone’s day,” explains Watt. She quickly reached out to her friend and former coworker Emily Haight, who thought of the name for the hashtag and helped put together a plan of action.

"I saw people sharing lots of flowers on walks and soothing images from their personal and institutional social media accounts, and it just made sense," says Haight, Social Media Manager for the New-York Historical Society. "Everyone likes getting flowers — even if only virtually."

From their institutions’ Twitter feeds, the duo tagged two fellow museums in tweets that featured snapshots of a cluster of apple blossoms painted by American artist Martin Johnson and floral overcoat by Yayoi Kusama with the hashtag #MuseumBouquet.

Soon after, over 300 institutions from 72 different countries followed suit and began tweeting photos of floral-themed artwork from their storied galleries. Scenes of botanicals depicted in styles ranging from romantic to contemporary have facilitated a sense of connection between museums and unbridled joy for those who wish to follow along.





“It’s been incredible and has far exceeded any expectations,” says Haight. “Scrolling through thousands of tweets with the hashtag, you find an overwhelming number of people who have said it's been so lovely to wake up to flowers in their feed.”



The trending hashtag has even picked up momentum on Instagram, with museums and art-lovers posting their favorite works to brighten people’s days and teach them a bit of art history.



“The campaign was intended to be purely about spreading joy and filling Twitter feeds with flowers for an hour or so,” says Watt. “I would never have guessed that one week later it would still be active!”



Haight adds, “It would not have made as much of an impact without the brilliant posts by all the participating museums and online audiences. It highlights that we’re all in this together.”

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