There’s a buzz at the BU library

The Tommy McLeod Curve Gallery in the John E. Robbins Library has been taken over by bees!

Brandon University has teamed up with Bee City Brandon to present an art exhibit celebrating bees, butterflies, birds, and other pollinators that can be found in Brandon and Western Manitoba. The exhibit features 58 pieces of art created or donated by residents of Westman, making the exhibit’s title particularly apt: Brandon ♥ Bees.

The 58 pieces of art range from drawings created by students at Maryland Park School, to digital photographs, to needlework, and more. Each piece of art emphasizes the beauty and necessity of bees and other pollinators, many of which are in decline in Manitoba and globally. Some of the art also draws attention to the City of Brandon’s campaign to “create a buzz for Ukraine” by growing sunflowers, a plant that attracts and feeds bees.

Brandon ♥ Bees also includes a wealth of information about Bee City Brandon and about pollinators native to the prairies. Bee City Brandon is a group of volunteers dedicated to the preservation and promotion of native pollinators in Brandon. The committee is designated by Bee City Canada and is a sub-committee of Nature Manitoba. Interspersed between the artworks are bee-autiful posters full of information about different types of bees, about other pollinators such as birds, flies, and beetles, and about the types of plants that pollinators love.

“It’s exciting to see the people of Brandon and Western Manitoba come together to celebrate bees through art,” said Sherry Punak-Murphy, chair of Bee City Brandon.

“We hope that many people visit the exhibit at Brandon University to be inspired by the art and to learn more about the plants, insects, and animals that are so essential to our ecosystem.”

Melanie Sucha, Chief Information Officer at Brandon University, collaborated with Bee City Brandon to create the exhibit at the Tommy McLeod Curve Gallery.

“Brandon University takes prides in being a regional university and a part of the Westman Community,” Sucha said. “This exhibition serves to celebrate both the accomplishments of artists in our community and the natural environment in which we learn and live together.”

Brandon University recently became “Bee U” when it installed two honey bee hives on the roof of Harvest Hall. Those hives are viewable from the windows of the second-floor Solarium of the John E. Robbins Library. The Brandon ♥ Bees exhibit turns our collective attention to native pollinators and their vital role on the Canadian prairies.

Brandon ♥ Bees is also supported by Shoppers Mall and the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, and the exhibit runs until September 19, 2022. The John E. Robbins Library is open to all, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., from Monday to Friday, and Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m.

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