SUNFLOWERS AT ARQ
Join us for our 2025
Sunflower Season!
In bloom from early September-Late September
Zoë among the Sunflowers. Photograph by Alex Van Nostrand. 2021.
EVENTS
9/12 - Dress Up Swap & Shop in the Sunflower Field - 4-7pm
9/20 - ARQ Barn Open House - 12-8pm
9/20 - Sunflower Art Eco-Therapy with Alex Van Nostrand! - Time TBA
PHOTOGRAPHY - All September
We’re open to having photo shoots in the sunflower field any day of the week! We ask that $25-60 (sliding scale location fee) per hour be paid to the ARQ Barn to support the costs of planting and maintaining the field. You must coordinate your own photographer, and reserve time in advance so as not to conflict with other events. Call or text Zoë at 607-279-1992 to schedule.
U-PICK - All September
$2 per flower, or $15-$25 for a bouquet. Details TBA. All proceeds support further arts programming at ARQ.
HAVE A SUNFLOWER ARTS IDEA? REACH OUT TO US! The blooms only last a few weeks! Scroll down for past artistic inspirations from ARQ Sunflowers.
Make it golden. Make it Grow.
Sunflowers hold a special place in our hearts at ARQ. Sunflowers were first cultivated near us by the Haudenosaunee, and have been grown in small plots by different ARQtists in many garden beds over the decades.
The tallest sunflower ever grown at ARQ was nurtured by blacksmith Durand Van Doren, and measured in at just over 16ft. This inspired the construction of his iconic Sunflower Throne, and inspired our logo design in 2024.
Our first FIELD OF SUNFLOWERS bloomed in 2021.
In 2021 inspired by the 2020 Pandemic Sunflower Field planted at Van Noble Farms, we did our first “full-field” planting, with just under 3 acres of sunflowers. This first year included figure drawing classes, photoshoots, and shooting of a music video with Maddy Walsh.
"The Day I Forgot to bring Yellow Paint" Landscape by Julie Rosa, during a Figure Drawing Session in the Sunflower Field, 2021.
'The Sunflower Throne" wrought ironwork by Durand Van Doren, ca. 2010s. Gifted to the Ithaca Children's Garden in 2020 as part of Durand's retirement.
Sunflowers in front of the ARQ Barn.
Brett Beardslee rowing among the sunflowers. Photograph by Alex Van Nostrand. 2021
Xena & Gabrielle among the sunflowers. Acrylic on Canvas. Claire Deng. 2021.
My Fathers Hands. February 13th 2023. Photograph by Alex Van Nostrand.
ARQtist Ben Marlan creating a custom mat for a ARQ Sunflower Field photograph taken by ARQtist Alex Van Nostrand in 2021. Taproot Area.
Bee on Sunflower. Photograph by Zoe Van Nostrand. 2021
'The Sunflower Throne" wrought ironwork by Durand Van Doren, ca. 2010s. An homage to the 16ft sunflower grown outside the ARQ Barn that summer. Gifted to the Ithaca Children's Garden in 2020 as part of Durand's retirement.
'The Sunflower Throne" wrought ironwork by Durand Van Doren, ca. 2010s. Gifted to the Ithaca Children's Garden in 2020 as part of Durand's retirement.
Look Up, music video by Maddy Walsh
Filmed in part in the ARQ Sunflower Fields in 2021. Released in 2025.