This September, Bee in the City will transform Wellington into a colourful and interactive art trail.
If you are unfamiliar with this buzzing event, it’s an outdoor exhibition organised by Life Flight and Wild in Art with all proceeds going to the charity. Wild in Art has previously hosted other outdoor art trails all over the world, including Whale Tails in Auckland, Elmer’s Ōtautahi Elephant Trail in Christchurch and another edition of Bee in the City in Manchester, England. What’s more, this is the first time the event has come to Wellington, making it even more fun to get involved.
There will be 30 Giant Bee sculptures decorated by artists and 20 community bees by schools and local groups on display. At the end, each bee will be sold at auction with all proceeds going towards Life Flight Trust, the charity that operates the Air Ambulance planes and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
Hnry sponsors local artist Stacey Fraser-Allen
For the selection process, Life Flight and Wild in Art put out a nationwide call for artists to submit designs. Once a group of finalists had been chosen, participating businesses could pick a preferred artist to sponsor.
With such a special event taking place in our hometown, we just had to get involved. We are thrilled to sponsor Stacey Fraser-Allen, a local artist and Hnry customer, making this even closer to our hearts. Much of Stacey’s work speaks directly to the heart of Wellington, which is what drew us to her.
“It’s been a really great experience working on Bee in the City. I’m super excited for it to ‘bee’ in the community,” says Stacey.
“It’s an opportunity to create a large sculpture in Wellington that people can interact with. We can add to the landscape in a creative way, work with other creatives and see what they come up with.
“Bee in the City is an initiative that brings businesses and creatives together. It’s creating a beautiful free event in Wellington that’s raising funds for Life Flight, a really good cause.”
Stacey on her artistic process and love of Wellington
We were lucky enough to catch Stacey ahead of the exhibition. When asked about her creative process, she says, “It started quite complicated and then I realised I wanted to scale it back and focus on making artwork that I really love to make, which is about people connecting with place.”
Stacey fell in love with Wellington on arrival, being struck by its colourful landscape and character: “I take a lot of inspiration from the landscape but also from the people I met and the community here. I know a lot of people who have lived in Wellington for a really long time. They have their stories of this place or that place, and a lot of the time they involve buildings.
“That’s always been fascinating to me, to create artwork that connects with people and their memories of the place they live and the place they love.” If you know Stacey’s work, you can see many of these buildings in them, often quirky, colourful, and full of life.
In terms of style, Stacey looks to Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, resonating with freeing, expressive work. “I feel like I’m quite a reserved person in my life, and the more artwork I make that is expressive, allows me to relax,” she says.
Stacey says the key to creativity is to build confidence. “I really believe in just starting. No matter where you are in your arts practise, it’s never going to be perfect. You’re never going to be in a perfect place to start – have the confidence to put yourself out there. Your work is going to help people and get noticed.”
Bee in the City takes flight from September to November
As a local company, being part of these community events means the world to us. It’s a great opportunity to back local artists and a good cause. We can’t wait to see the exhibition take flight. The art will be up from 14 September to 8 November, so go see it before auction day (26 November), or better yet, happy bidding!