Munich in a floral frenzy. A chat about the Flower Power Festival 2023

Anna Kleeblatt, what’s the format for the festival in the city? What will be flowering where?

The starting point is the “Flowers Forever – Blumen in Kunst und Kultur” (Flowers in Art and Culture) exhibition, which takes place the Kunsthalle München from 3 February to 9 July 2023. In addition, all the initiators are planning further exhibitions and events for the festival. Many potential partners have already been in touch with their ideas. There will also be projects that all Munich residents can get involved in, including collecting the 200,000 dried flowers needed by British artist Rebecca Louise Law for her installation in the Kunsthalle.

What’s so special about this Flower Power festival?
Truly everyone can join in. There are no limits to creativity. We want everyone to be involved in creating something for everyone. The only requirement: the programme must fit in with the festival’s topics. Science, sustainability, plant and biodiversity, gardening, climate change, aesthetics and quality of life are just some of the possible subjects for exhibitions, workshops, walks, plays, installations and more. Taking place indoors, outdoors and online.

To make sure that everyone can participate in the festival, inclusion has been a priority from the planning phase onwards. What does that mean in practice?
We see the festival as a chance to raise people’s awareness of the issue while also providing an opportunity for as many of them as possible to participate in the city’s cultural activities. To make sure we share as much knowledge and expertise as possible, we regularly invite inclusion experts to meetings with programme partners. Ideally, this will give rise to sustainable initiatives that will help shape our society in the long term.