Bee in the City will see over 230 giant and medium-sized Bee sculptures take to the streets from 23rd July until 23rd September in a celebration of the city’s creativity and pioneering spirit.
Pupils from 130 education establishments, including primary, senior and special schools, nurseries and library groups, finished decorating their bee sculptures this week. Some schools have involved every pupil in creating their design, whereas others ran competitions to select a winning artist. The designs explore a range of themes from equality and diversity to school values and local history.
Some schools’ designs are based on famous figures they have studied in lessons, such as Prospect Vale Primary School’s Beenigma. Their design celebrates the life and achievements of computer scientist and mathematician Alan Turing, known for his code-cracking at Bletchley Park during WWII, and the work of Manchester-born Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.
Other schools’ designs focus on the history of their local area. Russell Scott Primary School’s Bee Mad is inspired by Denton’s hat industry of the 1880s, and references Alice in Wonderland due to the ‘mad hatters’ disease caused by mercury poisoning in hat making.
Godfrey Ermen Memorial School remembers the Victorian mill owner their school is named after, whilst Boothstown Methodist Primary School have called their Bee Arthur after the very first pupil to attend the school.
Many schools are celebrating the diversity of their pupils, including Burnage Academy for Boys, Ellesmere Park High School and Withington Girls’ school, who have all decorated their Bees in the flags of countries their pupils and their families are from.
Inscape House School specialises in teaching children on the autistic spectrum, so pupils past and present have decorated the Bee in multi-coloured hexagons to represent the diverse nature of autism.
Other Bees feature the things that pupils love about Manchester, from famous Mancunians to well-loved buildings and locations. They also celebrate the city’s bravery and strong sense of community, as some schools have chosen to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the Manchester Arena attack last year.
The Learning Programming will officially launch on Wednesday 4th July when the schools and groups come together for the Hive of Creativity Festival; a celebration of the young people’s involvement in Bee in the City. The school Bees will then go on display in 19 venues across the city centre and further afield, including Manchester Cathedral, the National Football Museum, the Royal Exchange Theatre, Longsight Library, and the Stables Café in Heaton Park. At the end of the trail each school or group will be able to keep their Bee as a lasting legacy for their pupils.
Ben Reed, Head of Creative Development at Wild in Art, says:
‘Some of the schools’ Bees are just as creative as the professional artists’ Bees. They have had to come up with inventive ways of involving the whole school, such as running competitions for the design or covering their Bees in a fingerprint from every child. The schools have had so many original ideas and I can’t wait to see all their Bees on the trail.’
