A swarm is coming! The Beehive Design Collective- a non-profit, volunteer driven, political arts organization based in eastern Maine is SubRosa’s featured artist for May. The group’s mission is to “cross pollinate the grassroots” through the creation of images as an effective medium for deconstructing and educating the public about complex geopolitical issues.
Most interesting is their methodology. The bees create collaborative, hand-illustrated posters of dizzying intricacy which are patchwork “quilts” of personal stories related to them in their travels. Before setting pen to paper, the hive does extensive touring and field research.
Interviewing community members about the effects of globalization on their situation is a crucial component of the collective’s investigative process. “We feel it’s extremely important to gather our information from as close to the source as possible,” an anonymous worker bee says. The topic of each graphic campaign is researched thoroughly, including the specific species of animals and plants conveyed, and the ideas and facts critiqued by many people before the projects are completed.
The posters on display at SubRosa are from the FTAA, Plan Columbia and the Resist the G8 graphics campaigns. Like what you see? Prints are available for $20 each at SubRosa.
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