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Christiane Erharter: Bees in Art

Tuesday, 7 March 2017, 6:45 pm

Tranzit Orangery
tranzit.ro/ București
Str. Gazelei nr. 44, sector 4


"The contribution of bees to ecological balance and food security is indisputable. Over the last few years, more and more bees have been reared and cultivated in urban areas. ERSTE Foundation joined the growing community of urban bee-keepers with its own beehives, one located beneath the Secession’s golden cupola in the city centre of Vienna and another close to ERSTE Foundation’s new offices at Erste Campus. Since its inception in 2003, when ERSTE Foundation evolved out of Erste Oesterreichische Spar-Casse, the first Austrian savings bank, the bee an emblem with profound symbolic significance – has been in the Foundation’s logo. The bee has been the symbol of the savings banks and represented their philosophy of serving the common good for many decades and in many countries. The collector of honey signifies more than financial savings: it has developed into a culturally significant symbol and embodies the idea that social creatures should care for each other. In this presentation I will focus on the bee as a symbol for capitalism, private property and community. I will also present art works in which the bee serves as an icon."

Christiane Erharter is a curator and project manager based in Vienna. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and holds a postgraduate degree in Critical Studies from the University of Lund. She has worked at the Office for Contemporary Art Norway in Oslo and at the Galerie im Taxispalais in Innsbruck. Since 2006 she is working for ERSTE Foundation, conceptualizing and curating exhibitions, such as “Anna Jermolaewa: Good Times, Bad Times,” (Zachęta National Gallery in Warsaw and Wrocław Art Center, 2015); “AT YOUR SERVICE – ART AND LABOUR” (Technisches Museum Wien, 2012; Tehnički muzej Zagreb, 2014); “Gender Check – Femininity and Masculinity in the Art of Eastern Europe” (MUMOK, Vienna, 2009). Her research areas include (pop) music, visual art, and feminism. In 2012 she co-curated the exhibition “Rosa Arbeit auf Goldener Straße” on Queer Art Practices; an English speaking publication entitled “Pink Labor on Golden Streets” was published in 2015 with Sternberg Press, Berlin.

The presentation is part of the "/ Natural" programme of tranzit.ro/ Bucuresti.