Though museums across the country and around the world are closed for the time being, they remain committed to showcasing beautiful works of art, especially those that inspire calm—a trend the Twitterverse recently dubbed #MuseumMomentofZen. But then, yesterday afternoon, a new art museum hashtag began racking up engagement—so much so that it made rank among the day’s most popular trends as a featured Twitter Moment.
It all began when the New-York Historical Society and the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden started “sending” bouquets of flowers to other major art institutions. The first lucky recipient was the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery, which received an image of a sprig of apple blossoms by American painter Martin Johnson Heade.
“We hope this #MuseumBouquet brightens your day!” the historical society tweeted. The museum was quick to pay it forward, sending on a grouping of colorful blooms by H. Lyman Saÿen to the Akron Art Museum. Soon enough, hundreds of museums—365, to be exact—were filling their feeds with flora and messages of support for one another, with contributions from institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the Cooper Hewitt, the Frick Collection, the MassArt Museum, the Smithsonian, the Field Museum, and the MCA Chicago.
Below, check out some of our favorite highlights from this sweet community-building exercise.