Where Spring Takes Root: Inside the ROSA Botanical Art Fair
The landscapes and gardens around us are stirring back into life, and it’s hard not to feel pulled outdoors again! Whether that’s tending to a few pots, noticing the first unruly shoots, or simply standing still long enough to take in a blossom-laden branch. Spring has a way of sharpening our attention; suddenly colour feels more vivid, growth more urgent, and the everyday landscape quietly re-enchants itself. It’s this heightened awareness of the botanical world that finds a thoughtful and timely expression in the inaugural ROSA Botanical Art Fair, launching this May Bank Holiday weekend at West Dean in Chichester.
Dianna Jazwinski, Paoenia 'Coral Sunset'. Limited edition print.
Set within the extraordinary sweep of West Dean’s 4,000-acre estate, the fair invites visitors to wander into a layered dialogue between art, design and the botanical world. Across four days, historic interiors and open landscapes will host a rich programme of exhibitions, installations and events that explore how artists, both past and present, have interpreted plant life not only as subject, but as collaborator, muse and metaphor.
Olga Prinku, End of Summer 2024 (detail).
At its heart is the Art + Design Fair, installed on the front lawn, where galleries, artists and designers from across the UK present works spanning painting, textiles, ceramics, jewellery, photography and digital media. Inside the house, curated exhibitions unfold room by room, offering moments of both quiet observation and striking contrast. Traditional botanical illustration—precise, scientific, reverent—sits alongside contemporary practices that are more fluid, experimental and conceptually driven.
Bernard Myers (British, 1925 – 2007), Blue Hydrangeas, signed ‘B Myers’ (lower right) pastel on paper. From the artist’s estate. Courtesy Ottocento Fine Art Dealers.
This interplay is key to the fair’s ambition: to reframe botanical art as something both rooted and evolving. Works by pioneering twentieth-century artists are shown alongside bold new voices, revealing how our understanding of the natural world continues to shift. From the intricate ecosystems of moss and mycelium to the enduring presence of trees, these works reflect a broader cultural recalibration—one that seeks to reconnect us with the living systems we so often overlook.
Tadek Beutlich, Seeds II, esparto grass, sisal and wool, c 1980s. Estate of Tadek Beutlich archive held by Emma Mason Gallery.
Outdoors, the experience expands further. The sculpture garden weaves through West Dean’s celebrated grounds, where large-scale works and horticultural installations sit in thoughtful conversation with their surroundings. Here, art doesn’t simply depict nature—it inhabits it. Visitors can wander, pause, and encounter pieces that respond to light, growth and the passing of time.
Alongside the visual programme, a series of talks, performances and hands-on workshops offers opportunities to engage more directly. Whether through craft taster sessions or guided tours, the fair encourages a slower kind of looking—and making—that feels especially resonant at this time of year.
Kate Montgomery, Blue Interior.
ROSA Botanical Art Fair feels less like a one-off event and more like a gentle nudge to slow down and look a little closer. It’s the kind of place where you might find yourself noticing the shape of a leaf or the colour of a petal in a new way—and then carrying that awareness back into your own garden or daily walks. At this time of year, when everything seems to be waking up again, it’s a reminder that creativity, much like the natural world, needs a bit of space and time to quietly unfold.
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Further Information:
ROSA Botanical Art Fair: Flora in Art + Design is open 1-4 May 2026, West Dean, Chichester, UK
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Image Credits:
Lead: Carola Van Dyke, Floral Vanitas-Ode to Rachel Ruysch (detail), Embroidery of 3D flowers, plants and roots H110 x W90 cm, 2024. This artwork will be on show at the ROSA Botanical Art Fair.
All further images as credited in captions.