Project Beehive

Images courtesy of Movement/Paxahau

Movement Electronic Music Festival Powered by Ford Fiesta will feature the work of several Detroit-based artists who were invited to create provocative, site-specific installations for this year’s festival. Artists were encouraged to incorporate “found” and recycled materials into the sculptures and created “figurative” beehive installations.

The total number of artists leading the projects was 7 and their disciplines range from painters and sculptors, to builders and potters. In some of the projects festival-goers will see intricate hand-made weavings out of mesh and fabric, while others have been technically composed with wood and Paper Mache.

Notably, among the core group, Vanessa Miller and Kate Daughdrilll led the teams of artists and other interdisciplinary thinkers. Together, the group created one large-scale beehive sculpture to serve as gathering space for conversation during the festival. Their beehive sculptures are 12-feet in diameter and filled with comfortable seating structures, a conference table, and a small library of books about Detroit.

The collaborative team hopes that the intimate yet thought-provoking qualities of the sculptural environment create a space for reflection and informal conversation about the history, present experience, and trajectory of Detroit. They are interested in facilitating and engaging in conversations about the cultural, social, and economic conditions of the city that embody the present vitality and urgency of living in this city as this particular time.

The concept, proposed by artist Kate Daughdrill, references the collaborative, community-based production that occurs within a hive. Historically, beehives have been associated with industry, diverse cooperation, and fierce resourcefulness. Honey, a swarm’s primary creative product, has historically referenced the restoration of health and a yearning for sweetness. Each artist led a team in creating an installation that references the beehive in its physical composition, material usage, symbolic references, and/or creative, production process.

The installations at this year’s festival are united by the conceptual exploration of the beehive as well as by a strong materiality, laborious yet energetic working processes, and innovative approaches to the use of everyday, found materials. These common characteristics highlight the visionary resourcefulness, strong work ethic, and collaborative, community-based nature of many of the visual artists working in Detroit.

beehive 1 668x662 Project Beehive