Akaa to Host International Bee Art Project — Toijala Station Opening in April 2026

Akaa will host the international Bee Art project, a cross-border arts and research initiative that begins in spring 2026 and runs through 2027 with events also planned in Prague and Shanghai.

Project curator Katariina Lillqvist said the initiative aims to connect contemporary art, folklore and ecological debate around bees and honey. “Bees have been part of everyday life, mythology and the economy for millennia. In the Bee Art project we want to highlight this rich cultural history and at the same time discuss the current crisis of bee populations through art. Akaa is a natural starting point for this,” she said.

Organisers will unveil the project at an opening event on Saturday 11 April 2026 at Akaa’s Toijala railway station. The evening includes a screening of Ida Maria Olva’s film Mehiläiskesä, live bee-themed music and an electronic set by indie-pop band Amuri. The Tampere-based VHS-klubi art collective is responsible for the station hall’s visual design.

Across 2026–2027, Bee Art will stage exhibitions, artist residencies, workshops and seminars that use bees as a connecting theme between art and ecology. A special emphasis is on urban rooftop apiaries. Short films, installations and online content will document hives on a local shop roof in Akaa, in a historic theatre setting in Prague and atop a modern skyscraper in Shanghai.

Serving as the project’s home base and launch city, Akaa promotes itself as Finland’s honey capital. Urban beekeeping has been part of local life since 2009; the city hosts roughly 40 apiaries and an estimated 20 million bees. The project aims to make the honey theme more visible in the cityscape and strengthen Akaa’s international profile as a beekeeping city.

The project is carried out in partnership with the Kone Foundation, the city of Akaa and the film cooperative Elokuvaosuuskunta Cagliostro, and will bring together artists, researchers and urban beekeepers from Finland, the Czech Republic and China.