About Arthur Joura
The words innovative and pioneering always come up in describing Arthur Joura. He has spent the whole of his 30-year career at The North Carolina Arboretum shaping a highly original collection that is devoted to sharing “the simple truth about bonsai,” a perfect melding of art and horticulture in miniature, with an eye toward teaching much larger lessons about the complex beauty and biological diversity of trees that are native to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Starting out at the Arboretum on the Utility Crew as a nursery assistant, Joura was tapped to care for a donated assortment of sickly bonsai trees. With a mandate to develop a collection but no formal bonsai background, he undertook a rigorous learning. He studied with Bob Drechsler, curator of what is now known as the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, and he also studied with Yuji Yoshimura, credited with popularizing the art of bonsai in America. Joura often pays a touching debt to his teachers in the series of talks he presents through Adult Education Programs. Of his role as curator, Joura says: “Many people who enjoy coming to the garden and viewing the displays are having mostly a ‘surface’ experience, focused on the curious little trees. There is nothing wrong with that, but there is more to it. A little interpretation opens the door for folks to get the deeper view. My job is to be that interpreter.”
With Joura leading the design team, the Arboretum established the Bonsai Exhibition Garden in 2005. Now a signature feature, the garden comprises planted terraces with year-round interest and benches displaying bonsai from May through November. He maintains the garden and collection with a horticulture assistant and trusted volunteers and manages a large hoop house of bonsai off display and in training. The collection now numbers more than 150 trees, noted for their artistry, quality and diversity, with more in production.
Joura also created the annual Carolina Bonsai Expo, which had an unparalleled 24-year run. The Expo attracted bonsai clubs and associations from all parts of the eastern US to assemble inventive displays for what remains one of the preeminent shows in the country. He never considered recasting the Expo as a virtual event during the pandemic because community was always central to the gathering. The Expo drew the Arboretum’s largest number of visitors over its annual weekend in October and featured educational programs, a bonsai pottery exhibit, a vendors’ market, and presentations by noted bonsai artists in addition to the exhibition.
Joura‘s vision is helping establish a new American naturalistic style of bonsai.
“The traditional bonsai model was not in harmony with his vision of bonsai as a representation of trees in nature…Arthur Joura has created one of the most unique and respected collections in the country over three decades of tireless work. Using native and traditional bonsai species to represent notable Southern Appalachian natural areas is his way of paying homage to his love of nature in his home state. No collection highlights regional surroundings with such authenticity and originality.”