Parsons B-Studio
The Parsons B-Studio investigates the world of the honeybee in all of its complexity across disciplines.
The studio is centered around Mark’s course, Honeybee Colonies: Art, Design, Science + Culture. In the class, students explore one of the most remarkable insects on the planet and how they relate to natural science, sustainable systems, social history, gastronomy, art and design.
In the B-Studio, project-based research develops educational prototyping to enhance the understanding of honeybees and their role in ecosystems and human society. Primary and secondary research explores the intersection of honeybees and human creativity.
A six-minute video about Honeybee Colonies: Art, Design, Science + Culture.
A one-minute video about a field trip to Central Park.
While on sabbatical in the fall of 2024 – researching honeybees in Northern Thailand – Mark participated in the ARThailand Residency Program at the Prem Tinsulanonda International School.
While at PREM, he developed a series of workshops around the ecological and cultural importance of honeybees. A workshop for thirty two fifth-grade students introduced them to the structure of a honeybee colony.
Honeybee workshop materials.
The class became a hive, and each student had to define their role within the hive.
A “rock, paper, scissors” competition to determine who was going to be the queen.
The hexagonal shapes – with the bee's role and a drawing – are designed to hang as a mobile in the classroom, creating a swarm of bees.
Macro-photography workshops of the stingless bee colonies on the school campus, engaged students to observe the natural world in unexpected ways.
The fantastic and other-worldly interior of a stingless honeybee hive.