The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art has three “bee hotels” in its new exhibit, “Tell the Bees.”
Artist Heather Beardsley tackles themes of environmental change and biodiversity in her exhibit, which features hotels for bees, some of which have microphones connected to small speakers softly playing directly to bee larvae.
A total of eight bee hotels will reside throughout Hampton Roads until September 15. The Virginia MOCA has three and others will be at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, the Elizabeth River Trail in Norfolk and Red Wing Park in Virginia Beach.
“I’m trying to think about this interspecies communication and dialogue,” Beardsley said. “We now understand bees are very important to maintaining our ecosystem … but it’s less of a direct relationship.”
The “hotels'' are somewhat of a misnomer — the bees don’t actually reside there. The structures work by providing a safe place for bees to lay eggs, and for the gestating larvae to successfully mature. It’s a vital step in repopulating bee populations and combatting their unprecedented decline.
The microphone is for visitors to “Tell the Bees”, a ritual based in Celtic tradition in which individuals recount major life events like marriages, births and deaths to the bees. According to tradition, failure to do so could result in bad luck.
Celtic Folklore considers bees to be the link between the spiritual and physical worlds: Anything you wish to transmit to the other side can be done so through the bees. Many religions consider bees sacred, partially because of the insect’s role in the ecosystem.
Bees are the number one pollinator of flowering plants and vital for food security, as over a third of the world’s food supply relies on bees.
Beardsley’s idea for bee hotels was born when the Virginia MOCA contacted her about participating in their 2022 “More than Shelter” exhibition.
“I took a more expanded view of that to think about how important having green spaces and biodiversity is to our quality of life,” Beardsley said.
“I liked the idea that by making these bee hotels I was literally making a shelter that could be functional … and not just representational,” she said.
To ensure the bee hotels would adequately support, and not harm, native bee populations, the Virginia MOCA consulted the Norfolk Botanical Gardens and Jim Weinpress, Senior Director of Living Exhibitions at the Virginia Living Museum — just a few examples of the community collaboration on this project.
Beardsley’s hotels use local materials like scavenged hardwood and are adorned with details like tiny bricks to add to the “shelter” effect.
“Thankfully people are much more aware than they used to be about biodiversity and the importance of native species and native pollinators especially, but a lot of the commercially available bee hotels have some design flaws that aren’t ideal for bees,” she said.
Beardsley’s exhibit includes more information about threats to native bee populations, the importance of their protection and practical tips for making your own backyard more bee-friendly.
“Tell the Bees” is on display until Sept. 15, 2024 at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. Admission is free for Virginia residents. More information can be found here.
