Drawing Attention to Contemporary Botanical Art

April 24, 2012 - PRLog -- The American Society of Botanical Artists announces the launch of its new website today.  The site www.asba-art.org showcases the organization’s activities and selected artwork of its nearly 1200 individual members from the United States and over 20 other countries. The nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting public awareness of contemporary botanical art, to honoring its traditions, and to furthering its development hopes the new site will draw attention to this fine art form which is experiencing its own renaissance in the U.S. and around the world.

The site offers information about ASBA and botanical art explaining their history, characteristics of contemporary works being produced by today’s artists, the work of ASBA members involved with florilegium societies documenting plant collections at historic gardens like Filoli near San Francisco and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in New York, and references to books on the art form.

It features links to other related organizations and member institutions including The New York Botanical Garden, home to ASBA’s headquarters, the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, the Missouri Botanical Garden, host to the opening of ASBA’s first international traveling exhibition Losing Paradise, Endangered Plants Here & Around the World, and a host of other world class organizations involved in art, history, horticulture, science, and conservation.

Membership information and application forms for both individuals and institutions can be found on the site.  All who have an interest in contemporary botanical art are welcome to join the organization which includes member artists, collectors, curators, art dealers, librarians, teachers, researchers, and conservationists.

Fulfilling its mission to pass the art form on to future generations, the site is a rich source of educational content on both botanical art technique as well as related topics in science, technology, conservation, business, K-12 education, and buying art.  Class listings and a teacher directory point users in the direction of professional instruction and hundreds of articles republished from back issues of the organization’s quarterly journal give guidance to aspiring and accomplished artists online.

Extensive coverage of contemporary botanical art exhibitions and inspiring artwork can be found on the site.  ASBA curates an annual international exhibition each September at the Horticultural Society of New York as well as partnering with a variety of venues produce themed exhibitions drawing together art and history, economics, and conservation, while drawing attention to the beauty of plants and the vital role they play in our world.  Other ASBA international, regional, institutional, and individual exhibitions are highlighted on the site as well.

Online galleries feature the artwork of over 250 ASBA members.  In addition to the main Member Gallery, other online galleries include the  New Works Gallery featuring artwork completed by members within the past three months, the Historic Works Gallery highlighting selections of historical artwork from the online digital collection Botanicus, a project of the Missouri Botanical Garden, an Installed Works Gallery illustrating collections of original botanical art hung in residential, hospitality, corporate, and other public spaces, and the Virtual Gallery featuring themed artwork gathered from multiple sources throughout the website.

Details about the ASBA’s past, upcoming, and future annual conferences are available on the site along with links to purchase exhibition catalogs and other ASBA publications and member-only access to past issues of the organization’s quarterly publication The Botanical Artist, Journal of the American Society of Botanical Artists.

A pressroom rounds out this comprehensive go-to resource on contemporary botanical art.

ASBA engaged CHIPS-NY (http://chips-ny.com/) in the design and development of the site.

ASBA Background

Cultivating the field of botanical art since 1994, the ASBA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting public awareness of contemporary botanical art, to honoring its traditions, and to furthering its development.  The vision of the ASBA is to recognize and encourage the highest standards of botanical art created by its members; to create an awareness of botanical art as a living art form with exhibitions in major museums around the globe; to acknowledge the power of botanical art to communicate the importance of plants to our world whether through conservation, science, horticulture or agriculture; to pass this art form and its techniques on to the next generation of botanical artists; and to expand the vision of botanical art while honoring its rich tradition and history.  

For more information: visit www.asba-art.org