README: Igam Ogam Project
Title
Igam Ogam – Exploring Bee Societies Through Sound, Film, and Community Collaboration
Creator(s)
Patricia Mackinnon-Day
Patricia.Mackinnon-Day@ljmu.ac.uk
Liverpool John Moores University
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8096-1981
Abstract
Igam Ogam is an experimental research project that explores the relationship between bee societies and human communities through a multi-sensory, interdisciplinary approach involving sound, film, and physical materials associated with bees.
Contributors: 
The project involved collaboration with:
* Robat Arwyn (Welsh composer) – development of experimental soundscapes
* Angela Davies (Studio MADE, Denbigh) – interdisciplinary arts collaboration
* Ruthin Craft Centre Education Team – educational outreach and community workshops
Context & Significance
Presented at Ruthin Craft Centre on 25 May 2024 to mark World Bee Day, the project includes:
* Public research presentations
* Immersive art installations
* Community engagement through dance, sound, and storytelling
* A focus on Welsh culture, language, and environmental sustainability
Project Notes:
This is the first community-embedded project by the lead artist, based in her home region, marking a new direction in her practice through the use of multisensory formats and exploration of themes including gender, food insecurity, sustainability, and local economies.
Engaging with specific communities and shedding new light on individuals’ relationships with their community. This research and development project, funded by Arts Council Wales, participates with the rural community in Dyffryn Clwyd, where I reside, and explores the parallels between it and the lives of bees. Both communities are under threat for various reasons, and I would seek to explore how they adapt and evolve to maintain their way of life. Engagement to be explored through the senses, working with beekeepers and a cross-section of the community 


This project involved working with communities in Dyffryn Clwyd: 1) the rural Welsh-speaking community of Llandyrnog and 2) the community of bees and beekeepers in the same vicinity. I am interested in the behaviour of bees and their teamwork skills, and how these can be studied using different senses. In parallel, I collected narratives from the diverse rural community on my doorstep. I aimed to shed light on new ways of understanding both the workings of a rural community and the behaviour of bees, and to raise questions about the risks and challenges they face, as well as how they evolve and adapt to change. 

Ecological narratives were developed from research that included the sound, smell, and sight of bees within a two-mile radius of their hive. This was an experimental project, but I was also gathering physical materials associated with bees to explore ideas. R&D provided me with the raw material for sharing, including three experimental films that explore the social and ecological narratives gathered during the R&D phase, focusing on the interdependence of rural communities and ecology. The research also involved working with the Ruthin choir and composer Robat Arwyn to explore experimental soundscapes. I also partnered with Studio Made, Llandyrnog Hall, and Ruthin Craft Centre to publicly share the research through a series of informal ‘sharing’ sessions with artists, musicians, ecologists, and beekeepers. 

I was eager for this project to be rooted within the community where I have now settled, and to delve more deeply into the environment and rural communities, exploring how the two are interdependent. I am particularly interested in the journeys bees make within a geographical area, specifically why they choose these routes and how this affects the honey they produce. And, in parallel, how and why small community networks function and react to change and new developments, such as incomers like myself and new housing. Both are communities that network, respond and evolve.  As such, the project’s title, Igam Ogam, takes its inspiration from the Waggle Dance, a term used to describe the unique means by which bees communicate with a network of other bees to share information on the location of food. The networking, support, and means of communication within a rural community are vital to its survival and a way of adapting to change. 


Keywords
Bee society, gender, food insecurity, Wales, Welsh language, sustainability, sound art, environmental art, community engagement, interdisciplinary research
Date of Event / Output
25 May 2024
Location
Ruthin Craft Centre, Denbighshire, Wales
Format of Outputs
* Digital film and sound recordings
* Photographic documentation of physical installations and event
* Outreach materials
Additional Information
Language
English / Welsh
Usage Rights / Licensing
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Please cite : MacKinnon-Day, Patricia and Robat, Arwyn (2025) Igam Ogam. [Data Collection]
Funding Information
[Arts Council Wales and Ruthin Craft Centre]
Related URLs
* Ruthin Craft Centre: https://ruthincraftcentre.org.uk
Contact
For further information, contact:
Patricia.Mackinnon-Day@ljmu.ac.uk