Sogetsu Pittsburgh

 Sogetsu Pittsburgh is a collective of ikebana practitioners dedicated to studying and sharing the modern art of Sogetsu ikebana through workshops, special projects, and exhibitions. Founded in 1990, the group introduces the practice to the public and community through collaborations with various organizations and artists.  They have worked closely with the Andy Warhol Museum, Phipps Conservatory, Cleveland Botanical Gardens, Carnegie Mellon University, and others. Recent major projects include Gei 芸: The Beauty of Ephemeral and Eternal, a 2024-2025 multidisciplinary group exhibition with select artists at Contemporary Craft, one of the country’s premier art and craft spaces and Elements of Balance, a 2023 Fallingwater Institute residency and curated installation throughout the historic house, terraces, and grounds. The collective continues to be led by Nakajima and Sewell as principal instructors and is active with Ikebana International Pittsburgh Chapter #25, established in 1959 by Kay McKenna of Greensburg, cultivating the appreciation of ikebana in the region. 

About Fallingwater Institute

When Edgar Kaufmann jr. entrusted Fallingwater to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963, he envisioned Fallingwater not only as a place where visitors would come to experience great architecture, but also where a deeper experience of art, design and nature might occur.

Kaufmann imagined that Fallingwater could become a place where artists, scholars, designers and learners might come to find inspiration from the building and its landscape while pursuing individual or group study. Today, the Fallingwater Institute, formally established in 2015, honors that vision by providing a stimulating location for creative collaboration and inspired thinking through immersive classes, workshops and residencies. By serving an international community through its innovative programming, the Fallingwater Institute works to create and disseminate new ideas that promote harmony between people and nature.