Pestival

Pestival won the 2010 Observer Ethical Award in Conservation,[1] and had a three year residency at ZSL London Zoo.

With 200,000 people attending over three days, it had over 50 free interactive events and numerous experts at the cutting edge of art and science, and was supported by over 260 volunteers.

It featured Blur’s Graham Coxon, Robyn Hitchcock singing insect anthems, Robin Ince’s Bee Comedy Night, an interspecies choir, Softroom Architects iconic Termite Pavilion, artist-in-residence Noboru Tsubaki, live mosquito swarms, Praying Mantis Kung Fu, Bob and Roberta Smith’s Mobile Brownfield Site, insect detectives, maggots who paint, a pollinator themed slow food market, and Valerie Singleton spinning her favourite insect seven inch.

Chris Watson, a sound recordist who specialises in Natural History, and former member of Cabaret Voltaire provided the soundtrack to the Termite Pavilion as well as creating an evening called Cross Pollination that used live voice and the sound of bees.

Speakers included Stanford University ant expert Deborah Gordon, artist/engineer Natalie Jeremijenko and literary critic Steven Connor.