Emily Thompson

Nine Orchard is thrilled to welcome contemporary floral designer Emily Thompson for a discussion with curator Ala Tannir about horticultural gems and to celebrate the publication of her debut book Emily Thompson Flowers, releasing this April from Monacelli/Phaidon.

Thompson will discuss her extraordinary 15-year body of work, which reveres the weird and wonderful of the botanical world—the rare, overlooked, and lowly treasures from local swamps and beyond—and will dive into her visceral and intellectual approach to generating and germinating the seeds of her ideas for her lush and kaleidoscopic floral arrangements. 

Following the conversation, Thompson will demonstrate her process with a special presentation of materials pulled from her cabinet of curiosities. Emily Thompson Flowers will be available for purchase, courtesy of P&T Knitwear.

Emily Thompson was raised in Vermont and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, University of Pennsylvania, and UCLA, where she earned her MFA in sculpture. With her chosen medium of flowers, Thompson has cultivated projects at The White House, MoMA, the Whitney Museum, Lincoln Center, and more. She creates innovative art installations and has designed sets for fashion runways, exhibitions, and galas—challenging the limits of floral design with every blossom and stem.

Ala Tannir is an architect and curator from Beirut. She has held different curatorial positions at Carnegie Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), La Biennale di Venezia (2021), and La Triennale di Milano (2019). 

Doors at 6pm. Beer and wine will be available.
The conversation begins at 7pm.

• Please RSVP with the form, below.
• Please do not RSVP with the same name more than once.
• Capacity is limited, and RSVP does not guarantee entry.
• Only the first 175 guests with e-mail confirmation will be admitted. Confirmations begin April 16. 
• Please enter at 10 Allen Street.

For dinner or drinks afterward, please consider making a reservation at Corner Bar or Swan Room.