Shining A Light On Our 31 Nights of Light 2024 Organizations!
Read More
Meet the Co-founders of Fleurs de Villes: Tina Barkley & Karen Marshall
News
Fleurs de Villes returns to Prudential Center with its world-renowned fresh floral show from September 18th to September 22nd! This year’s Fleurs de Villes ARTISTE takes inspiration from the iconic collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MFA) for an immersive exhibition that celebrates Boston’s floral artistry.
The immersive bespoke floral show made its Boston debut at the Center in 2023. Founded in 2015 by lifestyle and media experts Tina Barkley and Karen Marshall, Fleurs de Villes (flowers of the cities) has produced more than 100 unique luxury large-scale floral installations, uniting over 950 floral artists in major destinations across Canada, the United States, England, Scotland and Australia. Champions of experiential marketing in the form of installations, Fleurs de Villes is a floral story-teller, leveraging local floral talent in every city to create authentic, engaging 360-degree experiences.
Before heading to the Center to admire these magnificent fresh floral works of art, get to know co-founder Tina Barkley and Karen Marshall below, as well as learn more about how Fleurs de Villes is curated!
Co-Founders Tina Barkley (L) and Karen Marshall (R)
How was Boston chosen as a host location for Fleurs de Villes?
Karen: As we travel the world with our shows, we gather fans who approach us with suggestions of locations and ask us to come to their towns and cities. We had many, many people suggest Boston and, with that, Prudential Center as a perfect location – and we agree. Boston has a perfect mix of highly talented florists, history and art and culture all combined with an enthusiastic public wanting more floral experiences – it’s a perfect match!
Favorite piece(s) from last year’s VOYAGE show at Prudential Center?
Tina: This is like asking who is my favorite child and there were so many things to love from our first show in Boston! From the impeccable details in Reynolds Flower’s Vietnam, to the mechanics of Jamaica from Just Bloom’d, to Poppy Florals’ soft romantic blooms. There was just so much to appreciate.
How was ARTISTE picked for this year’s theme?
Karen: Each year we align a theme by what we witness from a public interest perspective. We noticed that many people were connecting with stories of art pieces from previous shows, so we knew that ARTISTE would be of interest and extremely adaptable and different in each city we pop into. It has been such a pleasure showcasing so much art these past few months en fleurs. Fleurs de Villes ATISTE is all about art inspiring floral art. A thrilling combination!
How are florists chosen?
Tina: What makes our Fleurs de Villes shows so special is that even though the brand is international and travels the world, we showcase the talent of local florists. We send our “invitation to create” to many local florists and they apply for a spot. It’s a thrill for many of them to be a part of something so big and have the chance to stretch their floral experience in a new way as well as be a part of something that truly lifts up the florists in Boston.
How were the featured MFA art pieces chosen to be the inspiration for this year’s show?
Karen: With a collection like the MFA has, every piece is an inspiration in their collection so we had to narrow it down. With mannequins as the canvases of our pieces, portraiture was a natural way to curate the show. We worked closely with the wonderful team at the MFA to showcase some of their most interesting portraits in the collection and bring them to bloom.
What is your favorite spot in Boston to explore?
Tina: I love the architecture of Boston, so strolling the streets always gives me such joy. I make sure to always navigate over to Boston Common as well because it’s such a special oasis in the middle of the city!
Karen: Boston’s museums and galleries are world class, so I find myself lost in exploration at the MFA (where we have taken inspiration for this year’s show from), the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the beautiful Boston Public Library.