Sanctuary
2020-
Living installation:
Beehives, flower garden and gazebo, and the artists who take care of them/are taken care of by them
Tullisaari Park, Helsinki, Finland
Collaboration with Ina Niemelä
Sanctuary is an ongoing project and living installation, situated in Tullisaari Park on the island and south-eastern suburb of Laajasalo in Helsinki. Tullisaari is a public park, and the installation is open for anyone to see and experience from the gazebo. Our aim is to create a sanctuary for bees, humans and other animals in the midst of a fast growing part of our city.
The work started in autumn 2020, by clearing up some space for a garden in the yard of our friend and colleague Catharina Kajander, who lives in the park. In spring and summer 2021 several peonies, other perennials and annual flowers were planted and tended to. The flowers were chosen not only for their beauty, but also for their usefulness to the bees and other pollinators of Tullisaari. In autumn 2020 an existing beehive (started and tended to by Niemelä) was also moved from another side of the park to the more sunny, dry location of Sanctuary. The setup proved successful, and in 2021 the expanded hive was divided in two. In the autumn of 2021 the garden was expanded, and several new flowers were planted in 2022. Since 2021 we have arranged several events and happenings in Tullisaari, some of which have taken place at Sanctuary. We’re doing our best to help the bees keep buzzing and the garden growing, changing and flourishing in the coming years.