What's the Beakuency?
Beakuency is an artist-led community initiative that explores ecological relationships through art, media, and collaboration, envisioning and creating new connections between people, communities, and the natural world.
Beakuency (Beak + Frequency!) is an artist-led community initiative in New York's Hudson Valley, founded in 2023 by local artist Mayuko Fujino. Through art, media, and community collaborations, Beakuency explores relationships between people and the natural world, imagining new possibilities for how we connect with our environment and one another.
Rooted in an artist's perspective, Beakuency brings together people with different knowledge, experiences, and interests to explore local ecology and create connections within the community.
Beakuency began as a radio program featuring interviews with local birders, scientists, farmers, and conservationists, and has since expanded to include free educational art zines, presentations, videos, bird-themed art projects, and a Hudson Valley bird walk calendar. These projects share local knowledge and stories while inviting people to observe, participate in, and reimagine their relationships with the natural world.
Building on these activities, Beakuency is expanding into community art initiatives exploring ecological themes such as invasive species. Upcoming projects scheduled for 2027, organized in collaboration with CREATE Council on the Arts and Cornell Cooperative Extension, include a group exhibition and associated community art activities.
What Beakuency Does
Together, these activities use art not only to share knowledge about ecology, but also to imagine and actively create new possibilities for community and connection.
Radio interviews and podcasts: Features conversations with local birders, scientists, farmers, artists, and conservationists, sharing their knowledge, experiences, and relationships with the natural world.
Art publications: Creates and distributes free educational art zines that bring together artistic perspectives, ecological knowledge, and community stories.
Community art projects and exhibitions: Organizes collaborative art projects exploring ecological themes, including invasive species, bringing together artists, environmental educators, and community members.
Educational presentations and videos: Shares ecological ideas and local knowledge through visual storytelling and public programs.
Birding resources and community connections: Publishes a monthly Hudson Valley bird walk calendar, helping people discover opportunities to observe birds, explore local environments, and connect with birding communities.
Artistic collaboration and community engagement: Works with local organizations, scientists, farmers, and residents to create opportunities for exchange, participation, and new relationships between people and their environment.
Support Beakuency!
If you liked to support Beakuency, please consider:
Buy Me a Coffee (click the button)
Become a paid subscriber at beakuency.substack.com (subscribe button)
Send a tip via Venmo (@mayukof)
Purchase art prints and note cards on my Etsy shop
