What does sound mean to a bee? The bee, it seems, is a rather noisy animal. There are many meanings in the different modulations of a bee’s buzz, from the happy hum of a nectaring hive, to sharp alarm tones, the queen’s regal ‘tooting’, or the oscillating fever of ‘attack pitch’. Even the famous bee ‘waggle dance’ involves sound, through the propagation of communicative sonic pulses. So in addition to its floral syntax,“reading” flowers and their various visual signals (coloured, shaped and chemical), it is clear the bee has a sound language; that bees make and respond to sound; that bees are sound-ful.

How do we, with our human ears and human brains, make sense of these sounds? Can we learn to listen to bees through the prism of their own experience, instead of ours? How might it be possible to become more 'bee-centric' or even ‘bee-like’ in our listening?

On 16 December:
[The Old School]
REBECCA PHILLIPS, who is a Djaara storyteller and advocate for Caring for Country, will offer words of welcome and reflection on bees, lore and country. MITCH BONEY is a Kamilaroi, Kooma Merri Wurri man, known as Warrabaa, meaning Saw-neck Turtle in Gamilaraay, will share his stories, and play his uniquely mellow yidaki, which once housed a native bee hive. KIRSTEN BRADLEY will offer concentrated reflections on the human history of bees contrasted with bees’ own culture, with poetic contributions from ANNE E. STEWART. KHADIJA CARROLL will present a discussion on her publication Botanical Drift and a performance of Orchidism. NICK RITAR will share collected observations on listening, feeling and meaning in the context of “keeping”. NATHAN CURNOW will present a new ‘bee suite’ of poetic works. LILI HALL will crystallise nectar into a composition about floral-apian-human encounters. SHOHN MURNANE will gather us in the composition of an unfurling immersive collective drone experience.

[Melliodora]
NICK RITAR and KIRSTEN BRADLEY will guide us to the permaculture farm Melliodora, and invite participants into a group hive-listening experience, with honeyed drinks and snacks to follow.