New York has a short list of art installations people will actually stand in line for, and Cj Hendry's Flower Market is on it.

The 2024 debut of the original Flower Market drew such a crowd to Roosevelt Island that the NYPD shut it down because of overcrowding. Hendry rebuilt the whole thing overnight in an Industry City warehouse in Brooklyn, and the wait there ran three hours on the final day. It came to Rockefeller Center the following September and drew the same crowds on a bigger plaza. This year, CJ Hendry’s Flower Market returns to Rockefeller Center September 24–27, 2026.

Who is Cj Hendry?

Cj Hendry is an Australian artist known for large-scale hyper-realistic drawings and for public art projects that behave more like events than exhibitions. Born Catherine Jenna Hendry in South Africa in 1988 and raised in Brisbane, she has no formal art training. She started architecture at Queensland University of Technology, switched to finance at the University of Queensland, and left in 2013 to draw full-time.

Hendry first became known for enormous pen-and-ink drawings; much of her later work uses colored pencil. Either way, the marks are built up through a layered scribbling technique she developed herself. The hyper-realism is not a print or a filter: a single piece can take 200 hours. The results look like photographs until you stand close enough to see the marks.

How she got here

The first sale was a drawing of a pair of R.M.Williams boots, sold for $10,000 through Instagram in 2014. That is roughly how the career has worked ever since: the audience came first, and the galleries came to her.

She moved from Brisbane to New York in 2015. A 2017 collaboration with Christian Louboutin pushed her out of monochrome and into color. Kanye West bought a drawing of a hundred-dollar bill with his own face on it. What followed was a run of exhibitions that each had a gimmick sturdy enough to carry the work: The Trophy Room, Monochrome, Rorschach, Blonde, Cheese, PLAID, Bargain Bodega. She has filled a lot in the Mojave Desert with Public Pool, a free Olympic-sized inflatable pool, and filled a Bethnal Green church in East London with falling white petal confetti.

The through line is that you are supposed to walk into the thing, not look at it across a rope.

What the Flower Market is

The Flower Market is a fake flower market. Hendry designs plush blooms in the manner of real stems, has them manufactured, and sets them out on the plaza the way a real flower market would, with buckets and vendors and a line.

The 2025 Rockefeller Center run took place September 19–21 on Center Plaza, with 27 new plush designs. The first flower was free and additional stems were $5. A twenty-eighth design was available only as an add-on to a Top of the Rock ticket, which is the kind of detail that turns an art installation into a scavenger hunt.

Hendry has been consistent about not prescribing what any of it means. In 2025 she told Rockefeller Center Magazine, "I just hope they come through and experience it how they experience it."

The 2026 return

Flower Market returns to Center Plaza from Thursday, September 24, through Sunday, September 27, 2026. Hours run 1 to 8 p.m. on opening day and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the rest of the run, though Rockefeller Center notes hours may shift based on flower availability. Every guest gets one flower free, and this year's lineup is entirely new: each design is modeled on a flower native to New York City. Additional flowers are $5 each.

Diners at 5 Acres, Jupiter, NARO, or Le Rock during the run get one complimentary flower with their bill. Limited-edition merchandise, including T-shirts and caps, will be sold on-site.

It would be Hendry's second run on the plaza and her third Flower Market of 2026, after editions in Hong Kong in March and Singapore in June, plus a Flower Shop pop-up in Brisbane this summer. JuJu World, built around the collectible character line she has been developing alongside the flowers, also toured this year, with installations in Singapore and Hong Kong.

She has had a full New York year besides. Pastel, a collaboration with Salon 94 Design, ran on the Upper East Side in August 2026. Mere Mortals runs at Phillips August 28–30. Secret Garden, made with Sulwhasoo, runs at the Brant Foundation September 17–20, one week before the plaza.

Tickets

Flower Market itself is free to enter. For a faster way in, Rockefeller Center is selling a Flower Market Express ticket that pairs priority entry to the installation with same-day access to Top of the Rock, a lighter-touch version of last year's ticket-only 28th design.

What to know before you go

• Confirmed dates: Thursday, September 24 through Sunday, September 27, 2026. Hours run 1–8 p.m. on the 24th and 10 a.m.–8 p.m. the rest of the run, subject to change based on flower availability.
• Location: Rockefeller Center's Center Plaza, the same footprint as the 2025 run.
• Entry and the first flower are free. Additional flowers are $5 each.
• Priority entry is available through the Flower Market Express ticket, which bundles Flower Market access with Top of the Rock admission.
• Diners at 5 Acres, Jupiter, NARO, or Le Rock during the run get one complimentary flower with their bill.
• Limited-edition merchandise, including T-shirts and caps, will be sold on-site.
• Flower count for 2026 hasn't been announced. Sign up for The Center Newsletter for updates as they land.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cj Hendry's Flower Market free?

Entry and the first flower are free for every guest in 2026. Additional flowers are $5 each.

Where is the Flower Market at Rockefeller Center?

Center Plaza, the same spot that hosted the 2025 run and the rest of the year's public art.

What is Cj Hendry known for?

She is known for hyper-realistic ink drawings and for large public installations that people walk through rather than look at. The Flower Market is the best known of the second kind.

How long does the Flower Market run?

Four days, Thursday, September 24 through Sunday, September 27, 2026. Hours run 1 to 8 p.m. on opening day and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the rest of the run.

Where can I buy priority-entry tickets?

Through the Flower Market Express ticket, which pairs priority entry to Flower Market with same-day Top of the Rock admission.

Is there a way to get a free flower without visiting the market itself?

Guests dining at 5 Acres, Jupiter, NARO, or Le Rock during the run will receive one complimentary flower with their bill.

Did the Flower Market happen at Rockefeller Center before?

Yes, in September 2025. The Rockefeller Center Magazine interview with Cj Hendry from that run covers how the installation came together.