Bee There, a bee farm tour that takes guests on an informative journey about beekeeping and the motivations behind Filipino artist Issay Rodriguez’s bee-inspired sound installation, is open to the public through a free event.
The bee farm, which is approximately two hours away from Manila, is located at the heart of the Cavite State University (CvSU) Bee Research, Innovation, Trade, and Extension (BRITE) Center in Indang, Cavite. It focuses on bee information, research, innovation, product development, trade, and mentorship of seasoned and budding researchers and extensionists. It serves as an exemplary learning ground for apiculture and meliponiculture.
The activity will commence with a series of lectures facilitated by BRITE Center Director Michele T. Bono and BRITE Center Extension and Training Unit Head Dickson N. Dimero. They will provide guests with a comprehensive understanding of responsible beekeeping, breeding, and management. They will also introduce the different kinds of bees, as well as the diverse beekeeping products available.
The second phase will be the artist talk of Rodriguez, who will walk visitors through the creative process of her work Song of Increase. The sound installation, which features the musical humming of the bees captured at the Indang farm, was inspired by the 2016 book Song of Increase: Listening to the Wisdom of Honeybees for Kinder Beekeeping and a Better World by biodynamic farmer and natural beekeeper Jacqueline Freeman. It is currently exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) as part of the ongoing Adaptation: A Reconnected Earth, which proposes an approach to determining the present within the realities of a changed climate, a despairing planet, and a recently renewed humanity.
Rodriguez’s recent projects and residencies include: Fête De la Science – MOI COMME MER: Hybrid Open Studio and VR Painting Workshop with Lycée René-Josué Valin and Centre Intermondes, La Rochelle, France (2022); Aquarium Poetry Workshop with Association of Visual Arts Taiwan (2022); and Sacred Bee Open Studio with Gasworks, London Artist Residency Program (2022).
The activity was organized by MCAD of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) in partnership with the CvSU BRITE Center. Bee There is free, and there are limited slots open to the public. It will be conducted on May 15.
Transportation will be provided, and participants must be at the Design + Arts Campus of DLS-CSB, located at 950 Pablo Ocampo Street, Malate, Manila, by 6:45 a.m. Time will be allocated for breakfast and lunch, which will be shouldered individually.
Those who are interested may register through bit.ly/BeeFarmTour. For more information, email mcad@benilde.edu.ph.
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