Born in Berlin (West) in 1971, I have worked for the last 20 years in crafts, organic gardening and with adults with learning difficulties. In Germany I have also been active in civil society for example in anthroposophic youth work. My interest in younger generations is linked to my great joy of being the father of two children.

`Inside the Hive' is my first public socio-ecological art project. It is both an art project and a contribution to sustainable beekeeping which I have researched in theory and practice since 2006.

I am currently studying a Masters Degree in Social Sculpture with Shelley Sacks at Oxford Brookes University. During this course I have learned to combine my creative, social and craft abilities into one project: ‘Inside the Hive’.

I am fully dedicating myself to this project as I am convinced that the solutions to the problems we are facing today – like worldwide bee decline - cannot be tackled by (materialistic) natural science only. In Albert Einstein’s words: “Problems can never be solved with the same mode of thinking that brought them about.”

Possible solutions will need to be implemented by many of us in order to have a sufficient effect. New ways of understanding play a key role for initiating such action. Bees beautifully embody a highly efficient social order and thus activate our thinking and imagination. The project provides an experiential space where we can listen to what the bees tell us.

David Grützmacher