Art Alive at San Diego Museum of Art Offers Floral Celebration of Indian Art, Culture

Art Alive, the colorful signature fundraiser for the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park, begins Thursday.

The celebration includes nearly 100 floral arrangements inspired by works of art on view at the museum. The theme for this year’s Art Alive shines the spotlight on Indian art and culture.

Art Alive 2024 features a talented selection of Indian keynote artists. Nisha Sethi is a typography artist whose works will be displayed at Art Alive’s kick-off party. Vani Shiroor is founder of DOTURMINDS, a local art group based on rangoli, an ancient Indian art form that uses multi-colored sand to create floor decorations. Meghaa Modi is traveling from Bangalore, India, to fill the museum’s two-story rotunda with a vibrant, large-scale floral installation centered around the bovine figure of the goddess Kamadhenu.

“We are thrilled to celebrate South Asian art and culture with the San Diego community and beyond,” says Roxana Velásquez, the museum’s executive Director and CEO. “It is quite special to be able to highlight our world-renowned Binney collection and to juxtapose classic works of art with the innovation and beauty that our international floral artist brings to life.”

First up, the museum is bringing large-scale pop-up floral installations to partner locations around San Diego in the weekends leading up to Art Alive. For this weekend’s final pop-up, head to the Kimpton Alma Hotel in downtown San Diego for displays in the lobby and restaurant.

The 2024 Art Alive floral exhibition will be on display from noon to 5 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There will be a special installation from the museum’s renowned Edwin Binney the 3rd collection of South Asian paintings.

In addition, look for the Garden of Activities with interactive projects and demonstrations that are open to artists of all ages who are interested in exploring the floral-themed art-making space. Activities take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

General admission is $40, $5 for youth aged 7-17, and free for children under six. Timed tickets are required and entry is anytime within the designated hours.

Tickets for Thursday’s Premiere Dinner and Friday’s Bloom Bash and are sold separately. In addition, early Friday there will be an Art Alive preview for museum members only.