Local artist displays un-Bee-lievable exhibit at Red Deer Museum

“During the process of creating, I became aware that I wanted the imagery to illustrate not just the death of bees which happens both naturally and from these challenges but a future where they would be less susceptible.”

Ceramicist Dawn Detarando behind the scenes. (Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery)

The MAG states that for centuries, bees have been used by humans to pollinate crops and produce honey, becoming essential for the survival of many plants and the food chain.

However, they say a decline has been seen in bee populations due to habitat loss, climate change, pesticides and other factors.

“In light of the current crisis beekeepers in Central Alberta (and across North America) are undergoing with the high number of bees that didn’t make it through this past winter, this exhibition is very timely. Dawn Detarando’s, ‘In Adoration of The Precarious Bee’, exhibition is a very powerful comment about what is happening to our bees and our environment,” Pat Matheson, Curator of Art at the MAG.

Detarando says she wants spectators to explore the beauty and dangers of bees foraging in altered landscapes. The work aims to illustrate the challenging environments most pollinators and bees, have had with both chemicals used on commercial crops and cultivated backyard gardens, as well the unexpected weather changes that amplify or deny their will to do so.

“Some of the pieces in the show may seem whimsical but they pack a sober message and one Dawn has felt compelled to talk about through her art. As the weather gets warmer and many bee species in Alberta become more active, her exhibition may remind the viewer how critical bees, both native and imported, are to our daily lives,” said Matheson.

Originally from the American state of Massachusetts, Detarando met her husband Brian McArthur, from Red Deer County, at Ohio State University. Upon graduation, the couple married and moved to his family home, opening their business Voyager Art & Tile.

In 2004, Dawn became a Canadian citizen and in 2008 she received the Lieutenant Governor’s Alberta Emerging Artist Award. She has several pieces now owned by and in the permanent collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

Alongside the exhibit, MAG staff will host an informal tour on May 14 at 2 p.m.

A “Bee’utiful Beeswax Candle Making” workshop will take place on May 15 from 1 – 3 p.m. at the MAG with Kathryn Huedepohl from the Kerry Wood Nature Centre. She will be teaching how to use a votive mold to make beeswax candles with locally sourced beeswax. Participants must register online for the workshop with the price beginning at $35 per person.

On May 28 at 2 p.m., Charity Briere of the Red Deer Beekeepers Association will be converting her back yard into a bee habitat. Also a local biology instructor at Red Deer Polytechnic, the event is free to the public.

by rdnewsNOW Staff

Local artist displays un-Bee-lievable exhibit at Red Deer Museum

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