The Joanneum and the Kunsthaus Graz are bursting into BLOOM!

Flowers are desired, loved and traded. They are seen as a symbol of peace, of life’s fragility and of enlightenment. These facets, and others, form the starting point for the Universalmuseum Joanneum and the Kunsthaus Graz to present the flower in all its facets in 2026: titled BLOOM, ten exhibitions show how flowers connect cultures, though also drive colonialism; how they inspire scientists and thereby create myths; and how they accompany humans from the cradle to the grave. From spring through to autumn, BLOOM invites visitors to delve deeper into the flower and its close relationship with humans. The high point is the festival month in June 2026, when the eight locations come into bloom with a wide range of events.

BLOOM is an invitation, a brightly coloured bouquet of themes urging visitors to discover the irresistible charm of flowers – their allure for both humans and animals, their radical capacity for adaptation, and their function as a mirror of society.

The exhibitions are complemented by a wide range of educational and public programmes across all eight locations, spanning from low-threshold formats to evening events organised in cooperation with partner institutions.

At the Alte Galerie, the programme Expensive Blossoms (21 May – 31 October 2026) explores the depiction of flowers in the art of the Old Masters – from magnificent bouquets in Baroque still lifes to symbolically charged blooms in religious scenes.

At Schlosspark Eggenberg, the mediation programme A Flourishing Era in Eggenberg (21 May – 31 October 2026) highlights floral motifs in the state rooms and park grounds and invites visitors to special guided tours across the historic Rose Hill.

Up/Rooting (07 April – 31 October 2026), a new sculpture at the Austrian Sculpture Park by artist Daniela Brasil, brings together passion flowers, colonial plant journeys, and personal spaces of memory in a sensory healing garden that speaks of migration, adaptation, and mutual transformation.

Throughout June, BLOOMing in June offers a four-week programme of events at various BLOOM venues in and beyond Graz. Each weekend focuses on different institutions in order to encourage broad participation. At its core stands the flower as a powerful cultural, aesthetic, and social symbol. The programme connects the exhibitions with an intensive educational dimension and is explicitly aimed at a diverse audience. The programme below is continuously being expanded.