THREE giant beehives will be created in the grounds of St David's Cathedral as part of a 175,000 Euro public art project.

Internationally renowned artist Bedwyr Williams, working with Contemporary Art Society, has been selected by an expert panel and the public to create the new piece of public art for Ancient Connections, a three-year project linking Pembrokeshire with County Wexford in Ireland.

Bedwyr will create a series of giant beehives, three in St Davids Cathedral grounds and three in Ferns, Wexford.

These structures will be modelled on traditional skeps, and although they will be much larger than a typical beehive, they will be functional hives and house real bee colonies.

The artist has proposed that the communities in each location will take over the care for the bees and compare the unique flavour of the honey produced with their neighbours across the Irish Sea through exchange visits.

The decision to select Bedwyr's proposal from the shortlist of five artists, was made by a panel of specialists which included Wexford County Council's Arts Officer Liz Burns, Emma Price - Director of Studio Response, a public art consultancy company in Cardiff, the Very Reverend Sarah Rowland-Jones - Dean of St Davids Cathedral, and Remco de Fouw, artist and lecturer based in Wexford.

The panel unanimously agreed that Bedwyr's proposal bridged ancient traditions with modern concerns for the environment and biodiversity as well as highlighting the story of friendship between St David and St Aidan. According to legend, St Aidan was mentored by St David, who gave him a gift of bees before Aidan returned to Ireland to found a monastery in Ferns.

Twenty percent of the artists' overall scores were generated by an online community engagement survey. Bedwyr's proposal also came out on top with both communities when the scores were averaged out.

Bedwyr Williams is widely recognised as one of Wales' most significant contemporary artists and represented Wales in the Venice Biennale in 2013. For this project, he will be working closely with Contemporary Art Society, a consultancy specialising in support and delivery of public art projects.

The next steps will be for the artist to engage with the communities to translate this concept into a successful venture in practical terms.

The total cost of the commission is €175,000 covers all aspects of the project, including bee keeping equipment, exchange visits and marketing the honey.

It is hoped that the skeps will be installed, and the project launched, in Spring 2022.

For more information visit www.ancientconnections.org.