“I saw fresh flowers in February — in Rochester” is a sentence I never thought I would say.
A few weeks ago, I got to attend the limited edition “Dutch Connection” exhibit at the George Eastman Museum, only about a 15-minute drive from River Campus. The exhibition took place from Feb. 7 to Feb. 23. The George Eastman House is the world’s oldest photography and film museum, and as someone who is a big fan of 35 mm film photography, going there has always been on my bucket list. I was excited to see some of the oldest film archives in the world and equipment used by renowned photographers. Additionally, the museum is known for its preservation of films from around the world.
Inspired by George Eastman’s love for Dutch Tulips — which he discovered during an 1895 trip to the Netherlands — The “Dutch Connection” exhibit is an annual floral display featuring thousands of colorful flowers from hyacinths to daffodils to, of course, tulips. Hundreds of museum volunteers planned the event months in advance helping to individually place each pot of the tens of thousands of bulbs sourced directly from Holland. Walking into a room filled with vibrant flowers in the middle of winter as I was bundled up in my thick down coat was truly a surreal experience.
For any UR student with their ID, it’s $9 to enter the museum and enjoy the exhibit. In my case I was admitted for free after my friend Earl encouraged me to enter a raffle hosted by Campus Roc on Instagram. I ended up winning the giveaway — the prizes included free tickets to the museum, a giftcard to the cafe Open Face inside the museum, and tickets to Dryden Theatre right next door. Since Earl was kind enough to think of me, I invited him with my spare ticket for the perfect afternoon trip. \
I absolutely loved walking around the museum and the Eastman mansion. Not only was learning about the history of George Eastman and his reasoning for the construction of certain rooms in the house incredibly interesting, but being instantly greeted by the smell of fresh flowers was instantly equal parts therapeutic and comforting — and might have just cured my seasonal depression.
The exhibition was also incredibly interactive — everyone was taking photos (Earl and I included) with the flowers and there were so many posters providing helpful information about the exhibit. It was clear that a lot of effort had gone into making the experience both educational and visually stunning.
As we walked out of the exhibit, we noticed that some of the flowers were available for purchase. Taking a bit of spring home with us was the perfect way to end our afternoon..
It should also be mentioned that there is so much more to the museum that I didn’t get to explore and I will definitely be back in the future to explore the gardens again!
