ArtHouse Jersey is about to open the doors of its new home at National Trust for Jersey’s Greve de Lecq Barracks for its first company in residence. International art collective Forest Fringe will spend one month in the island, based at the Barracks, where they will make a full-length feature film, involving a number of creative islanders who have volunteered to take part in the process.
Forest Fringe are best known for having hosted one of the most inventive and well-programmed spaces at the Edinburgh Festival for ten years. They believe that art should be for everyone, not just to consume, but also to make. A key goal of this project is to try and make a feature length film using the range of artists they have previously worked with, to a professional standard, but on a fraction of the normal budget.
As co-producers of the project, ArtHouse Jersey will house the crew at Greve de Lecq, providing a base for operations, planning and collaboration.
Local volunteers will assist in production-type roles or as extras in the film. The film will evolve over the weeks spent in Jersey, as the creative team respond to the contributions of islanders, as well as the natural opportunities that will inevitably arise during the filming process.
The Forest Fringe visit is part of ArtHouse Jersey’s Artist Residency scheme and will be the first held at the new Greve de Lecq site.
Director of ArtHouse Jersey, Tom Dingle said: “Our residency scheme plays an important role in providing opportunities for international artists to come to Jersey to feed into the work we produce and our projects in the community. We believe it is vital that Jersey embraces the role it can play in developing art that can have an impact both locally and internationally and broadening the scope of artists that we interact with is a key part of that. It’s incredibly exciting to welcome Forest Fringe as our first guests at the Barracks, and we are particularly pleased that this project will both showcase our unique locations and involve a cross section of our local community.”
Forest Fringe co-directors Andy Field, Deborah Pearson and Ira Brand said: “After a decade operating the venue in Edinburgh, we wanted to see if we could apply the same experimental, collective spirit to a new challenge – film-making. We’re excited to have the time and space to work on this ambitious project at ArtHouse Jersey’s new headquarters, giving us the opportunity to test out ideas and venture into unknown territories. We’re looking forward to getting to know Jersey’s creative residents who have volunteered to get involved, and to make use of some of the stunning locations the island has to offer.”
ArtHouse will also be hosting its first public event at the Greve de Lecq Barracks during Forest Fringe’s residency on 31 August. Islanders are invited to join other like-minded foodies, film-fanatics and friendly people for a simple supper at the historic National Trust Property where they can meet the Forest Fringe team and find out more about their work. Tickets are £22.15 and can be purchased here.
