dear reader:

this is a project that was born out of boredom, out of a need for creativity, for connection, for a challenge. the idea was first formed during a conversation i had with my father while visiting my family’s home in southern California (where i was born and have lived for the majority of my short life). i was a year away from graduating college at the time, freshly out of a long-term relationship, and still learning how to use the camera i had recently purchased after selling all my old gear. i was feeling stagnant — with my writing, with my photography, with my relationships. “making space” seemed like the solution to stagnation — a direct response to a need for immersion in and connection to Richmond’s artistic community, for a personal kick in the ass. i did this project while finishing my last year of undergrad, working multiple jobs, and moving twice before its completion. i did it because i needed a trajectory and a path to place my work upon, to ride it until i saw some sort of horizon line — hoping for some sort of growth on the way there.

“making space” is not a revolutionary or groundbreaking project, and i have never supposed or assumed it to be. it is what i needed to guide myself into situations that made me uncomfortable, to have conversations with people i’d only communicated with through Instagram comments, to shoot almost entirely indoors with only natural lighting (something i rarely did and avoided like the plague before this project), to slow down, to write a lot, to wake up early, to listen a lot, to observe and take notes and make photos and try and blend into the background as much as possible. to capture and appreciate, to document, to freeze in time, to look back and to marvel at the change and growth and movement, to learn from the shots that i missed, the questions i forgot to ask, the unspoken things that still burned in me. it got me talking, it educated me on so many different forms of art and ways of living and lines of thought, it brought walls down and opened doors and forced me to find the good and beautiful things in every space, seek out the details, hone in on the parts of the whole that i found to be so striking, so wholly memorable and unique (but don’t forget the beauty of the whole, the intermingling of the parts are what make it so.)

i hope it can do any or all of these things for you — or at the very least be something pretty to look at and sit in (which isn’t an easy feat, and surely something to be appreciated and treasured when happened upon). and lastly, i hope it gives you a tiny glimpse into the way i see Richmond — a place i’ve only known for such a brief time, but have found to be so full of life and creative energy, tantalizing in its possibility for connection, understanding, for movement. there is so much beauty here, and i hope to have captured an inkling of it. thank you for looking.

-farrah

MAKING SPACE
a documentation project by Farrah Fox

“making space” is a 204-page, full-color book documenting the lives and personalities that inhabit ten (10) studio spaces in Richmond, Virginia.


After a year of interviewing, documenting, designing, and writing, this pet project was released into the physical sphere on September 7, 2018. All 50 editioned copies have been sold at this time, but digital versions of each installment are accesible through the links below.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to extend a thank you to all the artists who graciously welcomed me into their homes and their studios — none of this would have been possible without you. Thank you for your patience, for your openness, for your understanding, and for working with me. I learned so much from each one of you and am forever indebted to your kindness. Thank you for seeing and appreciating this project as something worth doing. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to shine a light on your work and your practice.

To Christian Something — this project never would have left my hands without your support. Your continual encouragement since high school has been invaluable to me. You’ve been a source of inspiration for years and I’m proud to know you.

To Camille McMullen — you helped me navigate every bump in the road and every minor crisis throughout the entire year of this project’s trajectory. Thank you for spitballing with me for hours, for brainstorming, for looking through every image with me, for guiding and supporting me. You are the best roommate and best friend a gal could ask for and you inspire me endlessly.

And to my father, for proofreading every installment, for helping me birth and form this idea, for supporting me every inch of the way. I quite literally owe you my life. Thank you for always being there, and for providing such priceless wisdom and encouragement.

You are all incredible. Thank you for being there.

All my love,
farrah