In brief: Jersey artists Hayley Gibaut and Sophie Harris, known as The Stoodio, are launching a participatory art project at ArtHouse Jersey’s Capital House gallery in St Helier from 14 October. Visitors of all ages and abilities are invited to draw, paint, sculpt and experiment, gradually building a collective artwork over three weeks. Admission is free with no booking required.
A Gallery You Actually Get to Mess With
If you have ever stood in a gallery wishing you could just pick up a brush and have a go, ArtHouse Jersey has some good news for you. From Wednesday 14 October, Capital House in St Helier will open its doors not as a finished exhibition but as a blank canvas waiting for the public to get stuck in.
The project, called Make Your Mark, is the brainchild of Jersey artists Hayley Gibaut and Sophie Harris, who work together under the name The Stoodio. Rather than presenting a completed show, the pair are handing creative control to whoever walks through the door. Visitors will be encouraged to draw, paint, build, write and experiment, with each contribution building on, surrounding or responding to what previous visitors have left behind.
The participatory phase runs from 14 October until Sunday 1 November, after which the gallery closes briefly before reopening from Tuesday 3 November until Sunday 8 November, giving visitors the chance to see the finished collective artwork, whatever that turns out to look like. As Gibaut and Harris put it: “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.”
Workshops, Graffiti and Cardboard Sculptures
The project is not simply a matter of turning up and scribbling on the walls. Alongside the open drop-in sessions, a programme of workshops and creative activities will explore experimental painting, graffiti, cardboard sculpture, movement, sound, fabric and sensory art. Guest collaborators include artist Emilie Knight and DJ David Gaspar, who will contribute music, performances and other creative activities.
Some activities will produce individual pieces for participants to take home, while others will become part of the permanent installation inside Capital House. The intention, the artists say, is for every visit to offer something different as the space evolves week by week.
The gallery will be open from noon to 6pm, Tuesday to Sunday, and admission is free with no booking required. Full details of workshops will be published on the ArtHouse Jersey website.
Who Are The Stoodio?
Gibaut and Harris are school friends who share a commitment to making art accessible and encouraging people to connect through creativity. Harris is a multidisciplinary artist working across painting, drawing, digital illustration and printmaking. Gibaut is an award-winning artist and ceramicist whose work draws on her Madeiran heritage and Jersey upbringing. The pair have developed The Stoodio as a community creative space with support from Andium Homes and ArtHouse Jersey.
Make Your Mark is part of ArtHouse Jersey’s New Work Programme, sponsored by Coutts Crown Dependencies, and was selected through the organisation’s Capital House Artist Takeover open call. ArtHouse Jersey chief executive Tom Dingle said the project was designed to open the gallery to people who might not ordinarily think an art space is for them, as well as giving regular visitors a completely different experience.
Source: Jersey Evening Post
