New Details Emerge on Bees Across New Britain
By Robin Vinci | Editor at July 20, 2024 | 2:00 pm | Print
New sketches are ready, a timeline has been set and ideas for Bees have been established as the City prepares for Bees Across New Britain.
In 2008 West Hartford began the Cow Parade with life size cows scattered throughout their town. In 2017 New Britain began a similar venture with 6 foot Bees.
“This is indigenous to our City,” said Stephen Hard, director of the Greater New Britain Art Alliance (GNBAA) said at Tuesday’s Downtwn District meeting. “It will be somewhat lesser scale than what might be done somewhere else since we aren’t a community flush with money.”
Artists will paint blank canvasses with their ideas. Craig Frederick will make a small model of a Bee to be reproduced in the six foot fibreglass version by a firm from Nebraska.
The Bees will be placed in locations around the City, in neighborhoods and various locations. The Greater New Britain Arts Alliance (GNBAA) will put a call out to artists.
The new sketch, introduced on Tuesday, shows a worker Bee with work boots to represent the workers of New Britain.
“While we definitely want the sponsors to inspire the work, it can’t be the type of thing where sponsors tell the artist what to do,” said Hard. “It has to have artist excellence.”
The new timelines shows the approval of the design to be completed this summer. A call to artists will then begin.
In the Fall, the Bees will be delivered to the CMHA Building for storage where artists can paint them or take them to be painted. In the winter/spring of 2018 the installation of the Bees will take place. In late Spring of 2018 Bees Across American Celebration and auction will take place.
Some ideas for Bees were mentioned as Hardware City Bee, Doctor Bee, Mechanic Bee, Attorney Bee, Teacher Bee, Worker Bee, Secretary Bee, Bookworm Bee, Dancing Bee, Theater Bee, Bar Bee, Ice Cream Bee, Realtor Bee and Historian Bee.
“A group of attorneys can get together and sponsor one Bee,” said Hard. “This is the type of thing we are hoping for.”
There will be 25 Bees produced. More can be added if needed.
For $2,000 a Bee can be sponsored and at the end of the campaign it will be auctioned off as a fundraiser for the GNBAA or for $2,500 you can sponsor and keep the Bee.
“The sponsor can work with local artist to give a flair of their liking to design the Bee,” said Mayor Erin Stewart when the idea was first announced. “We are really thrilled about this. It is so exciting. We have been putting a big focus on public art. There is art across the community because of the partnerships we are forging. We have three active art galleries in City Hall. Beehive Bridge is a massive display of public art. All the sculptures on loan from the Museum of American Art are downtown and at Walnut Hill Park. Art is a way of life and also adds to quality of life. We think the Bees are another opportunity to improve the landscape across the City.”
Anyone interested in reserving a Bee should contact Hard at [email protected] or call the office at 860-832-8299.
