The Beehive Design Collective is a group of artists, activists and researchers based in Maine. Together they live and do art based in social justice. They spend a great amount of time researching an issue, finding out every facet of it from community viewpoints to the western impacts. They've zeroed on 3 major issues so far including the free trade zones, the Columbian drug war and coal mining. The image you see above is the Coal Mining one, focusing specifically on the effects on Appalachia. Just the sheer scope is astounding! If you can see the detail, the animal metaphors reflect the history and culture of Appalachia, the corporate takeover and hijacking of the land, and the grassroots movement.
I'm fascinated by their artistic process. They go through such detail in their research, interviewing so many people and finding out the truth behind the issues they asses. I love when art is used as a tool to promote learning. It morphs a beautiful medium into a useful tool to promote awareness; it takes something aesthetic and turns it into something practical. Also, getting into a community and really trying to understand their perspective, and to contrast it with your own to produce such a wonderful art. It's inspiring!
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