UVA Studio Art alum Heather Beardsley’s Tell the Bees is more than an exhibition; it’s a conversation. Lean in and whisper your hopes for a thriving environment to the native bees that keep our world green. Beardsley invites us to co-create a sustainable world, one bee at a time.
This journey began with silence. Beardsley became alarmed at the absence of biodiversity and native pollinators in our region. Her response? The creation of bee hotels, each one sculpted from local materials. They are sanctuaries that provide nesting materials to native pollinators. This fusion of form and function is a testament to the resonance between art and ecology.
The centerpiece for the exhibition is Conversations with Bees, an interactive sculpture. Here, the artist invites visitors to deliver messages through a hidden microphone to a nearby bee haven on Virginia MOCA grounds. This dialogue is a recognition of our profound interconnectedness with the natural world.