In Progress – RJ Fernandez
About the project
In Progress – RJ Fernandez brought an established artist into the studio specifically to develop ambitious new work with audience participation. The artist transformed the studio into a site of collective making, bringing together photography, sound, performance and public participation. Developed with sound artist Tony Birch, Ginugunita Kita invited local schoolchildren and members of the public to contribute directly to an evolving artwork, culminating in a public exhibition and live improvised performance.
A creative outreach session was held with 30 Year 2 pupils from Mulberry Baird Primary School. The Schools Outreach session was supported by Chalk Cliff Trust.
Impact at a glance
200 visitors attended the extended public opening and performance
8 metres of photographic paper transformed into a collectively made artwork
3 artists brought together across photography, sculpture, sound and live performance
1 week of free participation, including school outreach, open studio sessions and public exhibition
30 local children took part in a dedicated creative outreach session
Projects, activities and impact
For the second iteration of In Progress, Hastings-based artist RJ Fernandez occupied Amici Studio with Ginugunita Kita (“I am reminiscing you” in Tagalog), a week-long participatory installation exploring memory, migration, time and collective presence.
At its centre was an eight-metre sheet of light-sensitive photographic paper. Schoolchildren and members of the public were invited to collect stones from the nearby beach and place them onto the paper. As it was exposed to ambient light throughout the week, each stone protected the surface beneath it, gradually creating a collective record of individual gestures and participation.
The project began with local primary schoolchildren, who explored the beach, experimented with mark-making using stones and carbon paper, and made sound art with an interactive sound installation developed by sound artist Tony Birch. Through active listening and hands-on experimentation, the children experienced types of art medium they had never have come across before: photography, sculpture and sound as processes they could participate in rather than simply observe.
The studio subsequently opened to the wider public, inviting people to contribute to the evolving artwork before its final presentation. The extended public opening attracted approximately 200 visitors and included an improvised live collaboration between Birch and experimental musician Ben Chernett, expanding the project across visual art, participatory practice, sound and performance.
Five of the children who took part on the first day brought their parent/carer back to Amici Studio for the public opening on the following Saturday, to proudly show the finished artwork that they had contributed to. Three of these families who were brought to the opening by their children said that they would not normally attend events in art galleries but were compelled to see what their child had experienced and felt welcome in the space.
By positioning audiences as active contributors, the project aimed to build creative confidence and a sense of ownership within a contemporary art space. Longer term, In Progress seeks to strengthen connections between local artists, schools and communities, broaden access to experimental contemporary practice and create meaningful opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.
Adult supervisor
I have never interacted with a sound art machine before. This is really something different for these children! I am very proud of how well they listened to RJ's instructions when adding to the big artwork.
Child
I liked getting to choose a special stone for myself at the beach and then making art with it in different ways. I didn't expect to make something you can see with the [carbon paper] and then something you can hear and then something you have to wait for. All with my special stone.
Visitor
What a beautiful experience. Adding my hagstone to the paper earlier in the week and then seeing the outcome displayed in the gallery while we listened to the sounds that Tony and Ben made on that amazing installation. It was meditative. I felt connected to nature. I think everyone did!