Apian Gazette Vol 1

Apian Gazette, the Ministry of Bees official bulletin with the aim of informing the public of the Ministrys activities. This is its very first issue; onwards, it will be published on an irregular basis to showcase new research, accompanying exhibitions, events, and collaborations, and it will also react to political affairs. Inspired by beekeeping journals, the Gazette thus pays tribute to this tradition while creating a new platform, something easier to distribute and produce, opening up new possibilities of collaborations and experimentations. The first issue unfolds the results of an ethnography about honey-hunting practices conducted in the vicinity of Digne-les-Bains, France, between 2022 and 2024 as part of a residency at the Cairn. Here you will find a text, co-written with Nicolas Csard, summarising our findings. Alongside the text, archive images, linocut prints by Ellen Lapper, and photographs contextualise the ethnographys result. In doing so, the Gazette proposes a brief history of honey hunting and questions the established boundaries between various practices that benefit from the fruits of bee labour (honey, wax, and much more).