2017 ANNUAL REPORT Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park 3 Annual Report 2017 OUR BELIEFS Architectural sketch of the entrance to the new Welcome Center. • We believe in a guest experience that is • We believe in fostering diversity, respect, enjoyable, inspiring and rewarding. creativity and professionalism. • We embrace curiosity and wonder • We believe in valuing and preserving our in all aspects of the guest experience. history to highlight the extraordinary story of Meijer Gardens. • We believe in accessible facilities, grounds, programs and communications. • We believe in clean and safe facilities and grounds. • We believe in a positive and collaborative work environment. • We believe in being good stewards of the natural environment. • We believe in a visual presentation based on quality, attention to detail and • We believe in financial stability and intentional design. sustainability to assure that Meijer Gardens can be enjoyed by future generations. • We strive to be recognized as one of the finest cultural institutions in the world. • We honor our donors and volunteers by being good stewards of their many gifts. • We believe in being leaders within the cultural, art and horticulture communities we serve. FREDERIK MEIJER GARDENS & SCULPTURE PARK PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Architectural sketch of the new rooftop sculpture garden, located on top of the Covenant Learning Center. A YEAR OF CHANGE, A YEAR OF GROWTH Last fall, the 11 millionth person visited Frederik Meijer Gardens Nearly 90,000 people participated in an education program at & Sculpture Park. This is truly an amazing statistic. I clearly Meijer Gardens last year. Due to the generosity of our donors, remember when Meijer Gardens was being planned and the the education programs we offer includes the 4th and 6th grade question asked around the community was: “What is a botanic children from the Grand Rapids Public Schools who come out each garden?” I don’t hear this question asked anymore. Through year free-of-charge for a unique education program; the people the inspiration and generosity of Fred and Lena Meijer and the who use the “check it out” program, in conjunction with the Meijer family, the idea of a botanic garden and sculpture park has Grand Rapids Public Library, so Grand Rapids residents can visit become a reality and part of the fabric of our community. You have us free-of-charge; our lectures that draw thousands of people embraced the unique mission of horticulture and sculpture given and much more. to us by Fred and Lena Meijer. Your embrace is necessary for us to present our annual exhibitions, featuring some of the finest Meijer Gardens is also a place that receives an amazing gift of gardens and sculpture the world has to offer. service from our 900 active volunteers. Last year they gave 86,000 hours of their precious time to serve others and help us advance The pages in this report document your gifts. Please know your our mission. It is truly extraordinary. gifts are appreciated beyond any words that can be spoken or put to paper. The appreciation we have lives in the joy and learning Another way to think about all our programming, including education, that is felt by the people who visit and experience Meijer Gardens. exhibitions, the permanent collection, concerts, and unique gardens, You can see it on the smiling faces of people fascinated by the that they are part of the warm embrace you and our volunteers give butterflies during the Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are to Meijer Gardens. Please know your gifts are sincerely appreciated Blooming exhibition or how children have so much fun learning and go a long way to helping us advance our mission. about plants, flowers and sculpture in the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden. It is always very rewarding for me to talk with our guests Gratefully, after they visit one of our sculpture exhibitions and say things like “This Ai Weiwei show is much better than the one I saw in Washington DC.” David S. Hooker President and CEO Annual Report 2017 HORTICULTURE Our gardens delighted guests year-round, from spring blossoms and butterflies to The Richard & Helen DeVos Japanese Garden to the winter wonderland of holiday traditions. LENA MEIJER TROPICAL CONSERVATORY OTHER HIGHLIGHTS In 2016 the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory received a A number of significant bonsai trees were displayed from the much-needed upgrade in lighting. This 15,000-square-foot Meijer Gardens collections, and we now have over 30 trees tropical garden is a guest favorite. The lighting installation that rotate for seasonal display in The Richard & Helen DeVos highlights the beauty of this space for evening visitors with Japanese Garden. The Lena Meijer Children’s Garden offered a renewed nighttime ambiance. This lighting upgrade also whimsical plantings for children of all ages, and members and included secondary maintenance lighting that allows our guests alike enjoyed special events like the Orchid Show and staff and volunteers greater options for upkeep during early Michigan All-State Bonsai Show. morning and evening time frames. FRED & DOROTHY FICHTER BUTTERFLIES ARE BLOOMING We welcomed more than 185,966 visitors for our most popular annual horticulture exhibition, Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming. Over 7,000 tropical butterflies took flight in the tropical conservatory. This beloved exhibition also included an educational display of Michigan native Monarch caterpillars in the Grace F. Jarecki Seasonal Display Greenhouse, family activities in the Lena Meijer Children’s Garden and member events like Night of the Butterflies. CHRYSANTHEMUMS AND MORE! A sensory feast of color and culture, the popular Chrysanthemums and More! exhibition welcomed more than 78,186 guests. Thousands of chrysanthemums featured larger- than-life blooms, indoors and out, along with cabbage, kale, pumpkins and gourds. Events like Mum Day drew families to enjoy interactive activities, tours, demonstrations, and visits with our professional resident horticulturalists. CHRISTMAS AND HOLIDAY TRADITIONS AROUND THE WORD The enchanting Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World exhibition drew more than 88,695 visitors to experience 42 cultural displays which highlighted some of the ways cultures reflect on the holidays around the world. Guests enjoyed engaging narratives and special displays from Ghana, Vietnam, Finland and Germany. Snow-flocked trees and the glimmer of ornaments completed this winter wonderland. FREDERIK MEIJER GARDENS & SCULPTURE PARK SCULPTURE Our sculpture programs and exhibitions are a central focus of the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park mission. ALMOST HOME: GRAND RAPIDS IN FOCUS natural materials from ceramics and silk to bamboo and wood. Friday, September 16, 2016—Saturday, December 31, 2016 The word state suggests multiple levels of meaning, from the state of a found object the artist may transform, to the state Known internationally for its commitment to Contemporary of humanity, whose inequalities and injustices the artist feels sculpture, Grand Rapids has also attracted and nurtured a compelled to call out for the betterment of the lives of women, significant community of artists working three-dimensionally. men and children everywhere. This exhibition asked representatives to reflect on their experiences with and observations of this community as RODIN AND THE CONTEMPORARY the conceptual foundation of new work. Cultural, social, FIGURATIVE TRADITION environmental, and aesthetic reflections on or inspirations Friday, September 15, 2017—Sunday, January 7, 2018 from a place some have moved to and others have moved from Auguste Rodin (1840—1917) was among the most revolutionary connected a diverse number of works in a variety of materials, figurative artists in history, and his vast influence continues today. installations, and forms. Gathered together, they provided a current framework for a place that for many was almost home. Throughout his storied career, Rodin was willing to explore new ideas for representing the body, even as fragments, in powerful new AI WEIWEI AT MEIJER GARDENS: NATURAL STATE ways. Additionally, he sought inventive ways to narrate stories and Friday, January 27—Sunday, August 20, 2017 capture ideas and became greatly interested in materials and how Artist and activist Ai Weiwei champions free speech and they could be manipulated in bold new terms. global human rights through his sculpture, installations, Today, many sculptors are looking at the work of Rodin through new films, photography, and widely followed social media presence. eyes. Ideas of figuration, fragmentation, portraiture, narrative and Ai Weiwei at Meijer Gardens: Natural State, underscored the materiality have never been so broadly and inventively explored. relationship between the artist and the venue, which began This exhibition, organized exclusivly for Frederik Meijer Gardens & in 2014, with Meijer Gardens’ acquisition of the colossal Sculpture Park, offered an international survey of the importance of outdoor sculpture, Iron Tree. The word natural sheds light figurative sculpture in the ambiance of Rodin. on Ai Weiwei’s use of imagery from the natural world to introduce his ideas and concerns. It also refers to his use of Annual Report 2017 EDUCATION Our extensive education programs touched the lives of a wide variety of guests. PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS: PROGRAMS FOR SCHOOLS: We offered a wide variety of programs to appeal to lifelong Programs for schools drew 33,000 participants during the 2017 learners