SISTER BEE (2006)
A Film Screening, Presentation and Q&A with director Laura Tyler
Saturday, November 19 | 12PM – 4PM
Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center
246 Market Street, Lowell
Free admission!
_____________________
This special event is presented in conjunction with the Brush Art Gallery’s current exhibit
Pollination: Beyond the Garden (October 29 – December 3)
_____________________
Come experience one of the most enchanting & important environmental documentaries out there: Sister Bee! Join director Laura Tyler as she premieres her remarkable film in Lowell and speaks on her journey of making this inspiring documentary. Also in attendance will be Tony Lulek, president of the Norfolk County Beekeepers Association of Massachusetts, who will speak on Colony Collapse Disorder and other environmental issues concerning the importance of bees to our ecology and economy. The fusion of art and science is intended to broaden the cultural aspects of the Brush Gallery’s incredible exhibition Pollination, as well as to stress the importance of bees as pollinators and producers of the wax used by artists in creating art with encaustic.
ABOUT THE FILM
Sister Bee is a lyrical documentary about six beekeepers who find beauty and wonderment in their work with honeybees. Beekeeping is more than a hobby for the beekeepers of Sister Bee. It’s a source of laughter, learning and connecting with the natural world. Sister Bee follows the arc of the beekeeping year beginning with spring queens and ending with the fall honey harvest. The beekeepers approach their hives. One lights a smoker. Another lifts a cover from a hive revealing the wax city below. A third laughs as she hoists a six-year-old boy to peer inside her tallest hive. “There she is! There she is!” says another when she finds the queen. Each beekeeper’s outlook is revealed through thoughts and gestures. Expressive sound effects and a score of vocal music, antique whistling songs and acoustic guitar unify Sister Bee into a celebration of honeybees, beekeepers and the changing seasons. Mortality, sisterhood and the palpable sense of connectedness some beekeepers experience while working with honeybees are addressed.
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT, POLLINATION
Organized & curated by artist Gregory Wright, Pollination is the expression of twelve artists working in the beeswax-based medium of encaustic. Each artist’s personal viewpoint, be it scientific, socio-political or metaphoric, is an exploration of the various interpretations of pollination. The artists in the exhibition include: Kim Bernard, Binnie Birstein, Milisa Galazzi, Lynette Haggard, Sue Katz, Nancy Natale, Toby Sisson, Donna Hamil Talman, Laura Tyler, Kellie Weeks and Gregory Wright. Each artist is regionally and nationally recognized and works primarily in encaustic. For complete details, visit The Brush Gallery at TheBrush.org.
lowellfilmcollaborativema.org 