A swarm is coming! The Beehive Design Collective, a non-profit arts and activism organization dedicated to “cross-pollinating the grassroots,” is heading this way to share their recently completed works.
MESOAMÉRICA RESISTE is an epic project that took nine years to complete! This is the third and final installment in the Beehive’s trilogy on globalization in the Americas. The intricate, double-sided image documents resistance to the top-down development plans and mega-infrastructure projects that literally pave the way for resource extraction and free trade. We highlight stories of cross-border grassroots social movements and collective action, especially organizing led by Indigenous peoples.
While focusing on stories from Mexico and Central America, the Bees will weave a much larger narrative about ways people are fighting back against a global economy based on colonialism, land grabs, and exploitation, and building alternative economies, all over the globe. This graphics campaign also celebrates cultural and ecological diversity through a cast of characters that includes hundreds of endemic (and endangered) species of insects, animals, and plants.
THE TRUE COST OF COAL graphic uses mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia as a lens through which to understand the historical and contemporary story of energy and resource extraction. With a gigantic portable mural teeming with intricate images of plants and animals from the most biodiverse temperate forest on the planet, the Bees will share (and seek) stories of how mountaintop removal coal mining affects communities and ecosystems throughout Appalachia and beyond.
THE TRUE COST OF COAL examines all of our connections to coal, while celebrating stories of struggle from mountain communities. The last chapter of the story also looks to the future, raising questions about alternatives, remediation, and regeneration.
The Beehive is an all-volunteer swarm of educators, artists, and activists using images to communicate and educate about the complex realities of our times. The dizzyingly detailed, hand-drawn, large-format posters and banners they tour with are portable murals that come alive through storytelling, illuminating how single issues are interconnected and part of bigger systems. Join in as the Bees deconstruct often overwhelming global issues in an engaging and interactive presentation, using metaphors from the natural world to connect social and environmental struggles.
The Beehive depends on grassroots fundraising and individual donations to sustain this unique approach to activism! Posters and patches of graphics will be available for purchase by sliding scale donation. For more information, visit www.beehivecollective.org.
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