Islanders are invited to help turn a Jersey gallery into a collective artwork.
Artists Hayley Gibaut and Sophie Harris, known together as The Stoodio, will take over ArtHouse Jersey at Capital House from Wednesday 14 October for Make Your Mark, an exhibition created with the people who visit.
The gallery will begin as a space ready to be worked on. Visitors of all ages and abilities can draw, paint, make, build, write and experiment, with each contribution helping to shape the finished artwork. No previous artistic experience is needed.
Alongside drop-in opportunities, a programme of workshops and creative sessions will explore experimental painting, graffiti, cardboard sculpture, movement, sound, fabric and sensory art. Guest collaborators will include artist Emilie Knight and DJ David Gaspar.
Some activities will produce individual creations, while others will contribute directly to the gallery itself. As the project develops, visitors will be able to respond to earlier contributions and see how the space has changed.
Hayley Gibaut and Sophie Harris said: “We want Make Your Mark to feel open from the moment you walk through the door. There’s no right or wrong way to take part and you don’t need to think of yourself as an artist. We’re creating the starting point, but we genuinely don’t know what the finished work will look like because that will depend on everybody who comes in and contributes.”
The participation phase runs until Sunday 1 November, including the October half-term. Visitors can then return between Tuesday 3 and Sunday 8 November to see the completed artwork.
School friends Hayley and Sophie established The Stoodio with support from Andium Homes and ArtHouse Jersey, creating a community space where people can make, experiment and connect through art.
Make Your Mark was selected through ArtHouse Jersey’s Capital House Artist Takeover, an open call inviting artists and creative practitioners to propose ideas for the gallery. It forms part of the organisation’s New Work Programme, sponsored by Coutts Crown Dependencies.
Capital House, at 8 Church Street, St Helier, will be open from 12pm to 6pm, Tuesday to Sunday, throughout the exhibition.
Tom Dingle, Chief Executive of ArtHouse Jersey, said: “Instead of asking people simply to come and look at art, Make Your Mark invites them to become part of its creation. We hope that opens the doors to people who might not ordinarily think an art gallery is for them, as well as giving regular visitors a completely different experience of the space. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing the finished work and discovering what Jersey has created together.”
Pictured: The Stoodio artists Sophie Harris and Hayley Gibaut
More information about the exhibition can be found here.
