RefuBees operates as a prototype and long-term case study at the intersection of art, ecology, and civic engagement. Since 2012, the project has developed and tested interdisciplinary methods through which cities can function as temporary sanctuaries for specific wild bee species, not as a solution to ecological collapse, but as a situated response within it.

These methods take shape through BeeTotems installed in public space, through performative and educational formats such as the BeeCircus, and through collaborations with international researchers, artists, ecologists, and institutions. Over the years, RefuBees has been shared, discussed, and critically examined at symposia, conferences, and public forums, contributing to a growing discourse on urban responsibility, more-than-human coexistence, and long-term ecological thinking. This website brings together these strands: concrete case studies, conceptual frameworks, collaborative networks, and ways to participate. Whether you arrive as a resident, researcher, curator, policymaker, or student, RefuBees invites you to explore how small, precise actions can resonate within much larger ecological and cultural systems.

Image: Ernst van Deursen