For 9 weeks Manchester hosts ‘Bee in the City’ an interactive trail of bee sculptures, in association with Wild in Art and Manchester City Council. It is set to be one of the most spectacular public art events the city has ever seen. There are 100 super-sized bees, and 130 little bees dotted around the city’s streets, parks and public spaces. You can download the app and unlock rewards with every bee you collect on the trail. All 100 of the super-sized bees have been designed and decorated by artists and creative groups, whilst approximately 30,000 children have taken part in decorating the little bees. We’ve created a list of our favourite bee sculptures…
1. AuBee
Name: AuBee
Location: Piccadilly Station (main entrance)
Designed and decorated by: Hydro Monkeys
Sponsor: Virgin Trains
Simplistic but striking, we love AuBee. ‘Au’ is the chemical symbol for gold, hence the name AuBee, you can find this bee outside Piccadilly Station.
2. Mr Bee’nn
Name: Mr Bee’nn
Location: Cathedral Gardens
Designed and decorated by: Mik Richardson.
Sponsor: Factory
We love that they’ve added a bowler hat to this bee, very characteristic of Mr Benn! You can find this bee in Cathedral Gardens.
3. Bling Bee
Name: Bling Bee
Location: Manchester Central
Designed and decorated by: Jayne Ford.
Sponsor: Manchester Central
We love the mirrored, mosaic pattern in this bee. It looks great when the sun hits it and reflects its surroundings. You can find this bee outside Manchester Central.
4. Manchester Doodle Bee
Name: Manchester Doodle Bee
Location: Piccadilly Station Approach
Designed and decorated by: Dave Draws
Sponsor: Transport for Greater Manchester
The doodle Bee is covered in illustrations from Dave Draws, the bee features a map of Manchester that picks out the ‘hotspots’ and focuses on theses. You can find this bee on the walk up to Piccadilly Station.
5. Bee Lieve
Name: Bee Lieve in Manchester
Location: St Peter’s Square
Designed and decorated by: kELzO
Sponsor: GC Business Growth Hub
And last but not least we live ‘Bee Live’ designed by artist kELz0. The bee is covered in designs reflecting Manchester’s industrial history. This bee is sponsored by GC Business Growth Hub and can be found at St Peter’s Square.
You can download a trail map to print at home here, or pick one up from one of the Bee in the city Hubs. All the details of the trail can be found on the Bee in the City website.