A group of young artists, armed only with their ideals and their artwork, have succeeded in resurrecting an important part of downtown Machias.
The Beehive Collective is a coalition of Machias-based graphic artists who create panoramic visual art to shed light on issues of social justice and sustainability. Beehive artists believe visual artwork can deliver a message of social change more powerful than any lecture.
“Visual information is received much more readily,” said Sasha Bee, a collective member. Beehive artwork, she added, is for “illuminating unheard stories that affect us all.”
“Bee” is not the last name she was given at birth. Collective members adopt the Bee surname in the public eye to focus on the group’s achievements rather than achievements of the individual artists. The beehive motif also reinforces the collective’s artistic message of interconnectedness. So Sasha’s birth name is Sasha Spencer.
“[Bees] are social insects,” who act as one organism, she said. “Everybody’s working together in the community.”
Artists’ collectives are not new to Maine; they thrived along the coast with other counterculture endeavors in the 1960s and 1970s. More recently, a group of artists briefly took up a communal living and studio space in a building known as the Slack Factory in Belfast. But most collectives come and go quickly without leaving a mark on their adopted communities. Not so with the Beehive Collective, who have saved one historic Machias building from the wrecking ball and are renovating another.
In 2000, collective members discovered that the historic Machias Grange Hall was for sale. Over time, the old building had fallen into disrepair because of drainage problems and a lack of upkeep funds. By the time the collective discovered the hall, it had been abandoned, the chimney had fallen in, and rumors swirled that it was slated for demolition by Maine Department of Transportation. The collective bought the hall because they needed a home, the price was right, and they loved a challenge.
“We kind of have an affinity to taking on tasks that are really impossible,” said Emma Bee, the group’s local outreach coordinator. Emma Bee’s birth name is Emma Hornback.
Over five years, the group worked to restore the Grange to its original splendor. It wasn’t easy. Collective members had little building experience and few funds. They learned what they needed to know through internet research and tapping the knowledge of local builders. Every August, the group hosted a massive month-long volunteer work party to provide the grunt labor needed to lay a new foundation, remake the chimney, and re-plaster the walls, among other projects.
During that time, the Beehive Collective connected with the Grange members in unexpected ways and learned of the building’s history as a community center.
“People would come into the building like it was theirs,” said Emma.
After learning of the building’s special place in the town’s heart, the collective decided to give the building back to Machias as a community center. In a 2005 reopening ceremony, they welcomed back Grange members and gave them a permanent meeting space; several Beehive members became Grange members as well. Studying the history of the Grange movement, they found that the elder Grange members and the young Beehive artists had a lot in common.
“Our political values and our political beliefs really match up,” said Emma.
The Beehive Collective purchased another home for their office space, an historic Machias building that once belonged to the local timber baron. (The irony of the home’s past history and its new owners is not lost on the collective’s members.) The Grange Hall landed on the national register of historic buildings; it is now a public space for group meetings, contra dances, and open-mic nights free of charge. Such a community center is rare in the Downeast area, said Betsy Fitzgerald, Machias town manager.
“That’s sorely needed here,” Fitzgerald said.
When the collective first came into town, they were met with skepticism from longtime Machias residents, said Dale Miller of the Machias Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. But now that they’ve succeeded in saving the Machias Grange, many community members have embraced the artists. “They’re just a wonderful asset,” Miller said.
The hive will be as busy as ever in the coming years. Collective members hope to winterize their new home and fix lingering problems with the Grange Hall, in addition to traveling for their regular winter speaking and touring engagements, fundraising, and saving the world through art. While saving the world may be a tall order, they have at least saved one valuable corner of their adopted hometown, and that is really all anyone can do to make the world a better place.