WHO?

Bee City USA - Hendersonville works to create healthy habitats and raise awareness of the importance of all pollinators through educational events. We are thrilled to be partnering with Hands On! Children’s Museum, local businesses, nonprofit organizations, and community members to bring The Good of the Hive to paint a landmark bee mural in the heart of downtown Hendersonville.   

WHAT? 

The Good of the Hive artist Matthew Willey is on a mission to hand-paint 50,000 honey bees – the number necessary for a healthy, thriving hive – in murals around the world.  Because Hendersonville's mural will be painted outdoors in a public space, Matt will purposefully be just as busy working as a pollinator educator as a painter!  You can BEE inspired by his work and his message at www.thegoodofthehive.com. 

WHERE? 

The bees (and other pollinators!) are currently being painted on the exterior wall of Hands On! Children’s Museum located within the Azalea Public Parking Lot (facing Third Ave. E. between N. Main Street and King Street). 

WHEN?  

Phase 1 of the mural project was completed in the fall of 2020.  You can now see the queen bee and her attendants “overwintering” on their comb dripping with honey on the exterior wall of the museum.  Phase 2 of the project to add more bees and honeycomb around the corner of the building as well as flowers growing up from the ground and additional pollinators in flight across the walls will be completed in the spring of 2021. 

WHY?  

Art has the enduring power to create beauty, stir curiosity, and ignite action.  In addition to the many aesthetic, cultural, social, and economic benefits public art provides, we believe this mural will draw attention to the importance of bees and other pollinators and inspire actions to help sustain healthy ecosystems. 

The bee and her hive are the artist’s symbols, but at its essence this project is about activating and celebrating the power in human connection.  The global hive Matt is painting is a metaphor for the connectedness of all things. The bees are a symbol for humans, trees, animals, pollinators, water, soil and everything in between.  “If COVID-19 has taught us anything it is that we are truly all connected more deeply than we realize.” – Matt Willey 

HOW?

Through the tremendous support of local  donors and sponsors, over $35,000 was raised from June 2019 – June 2020 to bring the mural to life in our community!   $25,00 is being used for design work, artistry, labor, materials, and supplies needed to create the one-of-a-kind hand-painted mural that will be part of The Good of the Hive’s global initiative to raise awareness about the importance of pollinators as well as for community and media engagement with the artist/founder.  An additional $10,000+ went (or is going towards) other supportive expenses including preparing and applying base coat to the wall prior to mural painting, renting a hydraulic lift, creating professional video updates about the project, designing and planting the pollinator gardens located alongside the mural, etc. 

Additional contributions to the “Bring the Hive Alive!” bee mural fund will help accomplish the following:  

• Establish a fund for future care and maintenance of the bee mural.
• Enhance the demonstration pollinator garden to be planted in front of the bee mural.
• Expand pollinator-related STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) education programs for students and community presentations by the artist (online or in-person as may be most appropriate) during the bee mural painting period and beyond.
• Join the Appalachian Mural Trail and develop/promote a downtown Hendersonville mural trail.
• Support future museum exhibits related to pollinators, agriculture, food systems, and ecosystems.

View Our Sponsors!

Learn More

There are lots of ways to learn more about the bee mural project: 

• The  Bee City USA Hendersonville Facebook page features regular updates. 
• The Bee City USA Hendersonville YouTube Channel includes the first two video updates about the mural project. Additional videos will be posted after painting resumes in the spring.  
• View the Lunch & Learn Zoom meeting with Matt Willey, Artist and Founder of The Good of the Hive.  Special thanks to Blue Ridge Community College, Certified Bee Campus for hosting this online event while Matt was in town painting!
• Read Inside the Bee Mural: Artist talks about his inspiration an article by Hendersonville Times-News writer, Rebecca Walter. 
• Follow The Good of the Hive on Instagram, on  Facebook, and/or on Twitter.