New exhibit, “The Fragile Bee,” has folks buzzing about the Bridgeport-based Discovery Museum

The Discovery Museum announced that it is featuring a new art exhibit, “The Fragile Bee,” that will run through September 16. 

The exhibit is composed of photographs and prints by artist Nancy Macko, who is originally from New York and now makes her studio and home in Southern California. She is a professor of art at Scripps College in Claremont, California.

In the exhibition “The Fragile Bee,” Macko looks closely at the world of bees. 

“This compelling work is not only meant to inform the public about the plight of the bees, but also to raise awareness of our interdependent relationship with them,” said Macko.
 
Macko’s interest in nature is ecological and even activist. The decline of the bee population is of grave concern. Her imagery, though, also has social concerns, particularly in regard to women. 

Bill Finch, executive director of the Discovery Museum, said that Macko’s work is not only important due to its artistic relevance and beauty, but also as it relates to the fight against climate change.

“Beating back climate change is instrumental to the future of our planet,” said Finch. 

“Nancy’s work helps us in our fight against climate change by educating our next generation about the beauty and importance of pollinators.”

According to Smithsonian Magazine, bees are vitally important to the health of the planet: The more than 30,000 bee species around the world are the most important group of pollinators for farming and wild plants. 

But populations are declining due to a variety of factors including human development, pesticides, disease and a changing climate, according to Grist.org.
 
Macko’s incorporation of bee imagery into her art enables her to make observations about human society: in fact, the artist has studied ancient matriarchal societies in an effort to imagine other ways of living. 
 
Macko completed her undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin, and received her MFA from the University of California, Berkeley. Since the 1980s, she has had more than thirty solo exhibitions, and has taken part in over 150 exhibitions nationally and abroad. 

Her work is in the holdings of UCLA Hammer, the RISD Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Portland Art Museum, and the New York Public Library, as well as in many other collections.