The Bulmers Art Bursary invites artists to imagine a living art installation that supports the regeneration of Ireland’s bees, to be presented at Body & Soul Festival 2022
Have a hive of arty ideas? Bulmers is inviting artists and creatives to ‘bee-inspired’ and propose imaginative concepts for a new living artwork installation, in celebration of Ireland’s wild bees, to be commissioned for this year’s Body & Soul Festival. The winning design will be awarded a bursary of €5,000 to fund the conception, development and installation of the artwork at the festival. Body & Soul will take place from 17th - 19th of June in Ballinlough, Co. Westmeath.
Applications for the Bulmers Art Bursary are now open to all artists and creatives through www.bodyandsoul.ie/apply, with a deadline for entry of 6pm on Thursday 12th May. As a sustainable Irish cider, Bulmers has committed to supporting Ireland’s wild bees and pollinators in order help restore the country’s declining bee population and encourage biodiversity. The delicious taste of Bulmers begins with bees, as they pollinate the brand’s orchards in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, which produce the 17 varieties of apples used in the making of Bulmers.
In keeping with the brand’s commitment, the Bulmers Art Bursary installation will be a regenerative piece, using natural materials and plants that will be repositioned in the Ballinlough Estate after the festival has taken place. The artwork will include a planted art installation to attract pollinators, provide a bee-friendly habitat and a protected environment that encourages biodiversity. The unique outdoor artwork will be placed at the centre of the Walled Gardens in Ballinlough Castle for the 5,500 attendees at this year’s Body & Soul festival to enjoy.
Body & Soul is a participant of the Green Deal Circular Festivals (GDCF) and aims to reduce its environmental impact as much as possible by 2025 and implement a sustainable festival model towards circularity by 2027 by eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials and regenerating nature.
In addition to the Bulmers Art Bursary, the brand will soon launch the Bulmers Pollinator Pathway Plan as part of its ‘Bulmers Always Begins With A Bee’ campaign. The plan will see the planting of thousands of apple trees across Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, home of the Bulmer’s brand, as well as the creation of pesticide free corridors that will help provide nutrition and habitat to bees and pollinators. Bulmers will also give away a further 1,000 apple trees to consumers, for the public to grow and help in pollination efforts.
Karl Donnelly, Marketing Director, Bulmers Ireland said: ‘We’re thrilled to partner with Body & Soul Festival 2022 on the Bulmers Art Bursary. The pandemic has had detrimental effects on the arts and culture industry over the past two years, so we’re delighted to be a part of Body & Soul Festival as it returns for the first time since 2019 and support homegrown artistic talent in doing so. At Bulmers, bees are the beginning of our product, and we understand the importance of supporting Ireland’s biodiversity through our orchards, where we grow all 17 varieties of Bulmers apples, pollinators and healthy hedgerows. We look forward to seeing the inspired ideas from Ireland’s creative community and are excited to watch the chosen artwork become a reality at this year’s festival.’
Avril Stanley, Founder, Body & Soul Festival added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Bulmers on the 2022 edition of Body & Soul. With sustainability at our heart and the intention of elevating our curatorial approach and unique ability for creative commissions this year, this artist bursary not only brings together two of our central focuses - visual arts and nature - but also offers an opportunity to support artistic talent at a time when the creative landscape has suffered immensely, through an important environmental campaign, native to Ireland. This is the first part of our 2022 partnership with Bulmers and we look forward to revealing more about our plans soon.”
The deadline for submissions for the Bulmers Art Bursary is Thursday 12th May with the successful applicant notified on the 18th May. The €5,000 bursary will be awarded to the winning entry to cover all costs including materials, plants and infrastructure. To apply, artists should visit www.bodyandsoul.ie/apply.
For more information on Bulmers, visit www.bulmers.ie or Bulmers Ireland on Facebook and Instagram.
