The Bees (& The Birds) Group Exhibition
June 4th-27th, 2015
Reception: Friday June 5th 2015, 6-9 pm
Participating Artists:
Tina Austin, Wendy Heagney Bakewell, Jackie Besteman, Marina Billinghurst, Sydney Bouwers, Ruth Bretholz, David Brown, Jessica Caissie, Erin Candela, Margaret Cassidy, Sarah Carlson, Lauren Olsen, Jordan Clawsey, Danielle Cole, Hilary Cole, Rob Collinet, Simone Collins, Matt Dabrowski, Kelly Diamond,Justine Giles, Eric Gold, Jade Greaves, Nadia Gurkova, Kelly Hu, Elizabeth Hutchinson, Japneet Kaur,Nancy Kembry, Stacey Kinder, Gillian Leitch, Ashton Ludden, Shoshanna MacKay, Gevi Marotz,Susy Martins, Michelle Matsui, Sarah Malekzadeh, Shannon Moynagh, Elise Muller, Corinne Parzanese,Christine Pensa, eXavier Peterson, Doris Purchase, Sandra Robson, Marcia Ritz, Gwendolyn Soliman,Jennifer Toffoli, Ania Tricia, Saskia Van Kampen, Marnie White, Ele Wiloughby, Andrea Zadro.
Curated by local artist and Art That Moves blogger Christine Pensa, the initiative was spurred by a desire to mobilize Toronto's vibrant artistic community in a way that could promote positive action and urban health. "Each of the artists participating in the show is working to make a difference. Most of the world's plants and food supply rely on pollinators like the bees to survive. Bee population decline is a big problem and we wanted to do something to bring awareness to the issue, as well as raise a little money to contribute to the cause. Every entry is a bee or pollinator-inspired piece that explores the place of these alchemist creatures in our world. In this way, our art can make a difference for our community and for our world."
The night of the reception will also be engaging in a bit of cross-pollination as it concurrently shares time and space with a fundraising event for the recent establishment of the Logie Place Community Garden. Built on land owned by the TTC and entirely funded by donations and 2 grants from the Carrot Cache, community members have built 3 raised beds in the last month and plan to grow a variety of bee-friendly plants. Local horticulturist Gene Threndyle will be speaking at the event about the garden.
In the hopes of raising funds and awareness for at-risk pollinators, this group show features nearly 50 artists working under a collective theme. 10% of all net proceeds, including sales, were donated to the David Suzuki Foundation's bee program.