FIFTY BEES
The Interconnectedness of All Things
Fifty Bees brings environmental learning to life through art, creativity, and education.


This project begins with a bee. Not just as an insect, but as a doorway into a much larger story.
At the heart of this project is a simple idea: everything is connected.
Each bee has been sculpted from wool, a renewable material that carries the story of
the land within it. Wool grows from animals that graze our landscapes, connecting soil,
plants, weather, farming, and centuries of human stewardship. It is a material rooted in
cycles of growth, care, and regeneration.
The bees themselves tell another story. Across Britain, hundreds of bee species depend upon healthy habitats rich in flowers and nesting places. In turn, pollinators support the plants, crops, and ecosystems upon which so much life depends.
Nothing exists in isolation.
Each wool bee has inspired a response from an artist, maker,
writer, or musician. Together, these companion works create
a network of creative connections that mirrors the ecological
connections found throughout the natural world.
Every contribution adds a new perspective, reminding us that
understanding grows through collaboration.
This picture shows Bee 118 Bombus jonellus in front of the
companion piece by Kaye Parmenter

Huge thanks to Catherine Hill from Arnold's Attic for a lovely interview about the last FIFTY BEES exhibition. Click on the picture link to watch.
From the video:
In 2016 artist Lydia Needle started a project focussing on British bees - named ‘FIFTY BEES: The Interconnectedness of All Things’ - a collaborative art project about Britains 275 bees; each year Lydia makes 50 from wool, stitch and vintage containers and invites fifty collaborative artists to make work in response to the ecology of one bee. Lydia lives and works in Somerset, England. Filmed at the Fifty Bees 5 Exhibition, Somerton in 2022.
Artists mentioned:
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Catherine Hill: / catherine_hill_textile_artist
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Tzipporah Johnston: / tzipporahfeiga
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Claire Cooper-Walsh: / ccooperwalsh
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Donna Vale
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Lytes Cary Manor House: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lyte...
