Buffalo Bills Public Art Program at Highmark Stadium features work with RIT roots
Assistant Professor of Design Randy Fernando and Joselyne Morocho created an art installation for the recently opened Highmark Stadium
Photos provided by MOV.E
'Charge the Herd', co-created by RIT Assistant Professor Randy Fernando and Joselyne Morocho, is an immersive media installation at Highmark Stadium that celebrates the energy of the Bills Mafia.
When Buffalo Bills fans at Highmark Stadium cheer for the team this season, their energy will be transformed into a living piece of art through a new installation co-created by a faculty member at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Randy Fernando, assistant professor in RIT’s School of Design, is one half of MOV.E, a collaborative artist-design team based in Buffalo. He and his partner at MOV.E, Joselyne Morocho, co-created their installation for the stadium, Charge the Herd. The duo was commissioned for this site-specific artwork as part of the Buffalo Bills Public Art Program at Highmark Stadium, and the installation has become a part of the Stadium’s permanent art collection.
“It was an incredible experience to be accepted into the Buffalo Bills Public Art Program at Highmark Stadium, and it was an interesting creative challenge,” said Fernando. “We were inspired by the strength, dynamic movement, and symbolism of the American bison when creating the piece. The installation abstracts the image of a stampeding herd, and celebrates the cherished, chaotic energy of a home game.”
Photos provided by MOV.E
Randy Fernando stages pieces of the installation at the MOV.E studio.
Charge the Herd, crafted from audio-reactive light, perforated steel, acrylic, and wood, aims to capture and transform the collective energy of Bills Mafia. The immersive media installation uses illuminated geometric screens and responsive lighting animations that react to crowd noise and stadium atmosphere, creating a living artwork that embodies movement, resilience, and collective identity.
Kimberly Sass, Holly Hayden, and Frank Cravotta, who each support the Buffalo Bills Public Art Program at Highmark Stadium in different capacities, assisted Fernando and Morocho with the installation by providing valuable feedback during multiple stages of the design process.
The Buffalo Bills Public Art Program, presented by Victory Live, commissioned professional visual artists, or artist teams, to create site-specific public artworks for the new Highmark Stadium. The program selected sculptural ceiling art, murals, and wall-based artworks to be curated on all levels of the stadium. Artists applied via a competitive RFP process and were selected by local art representatives and project stakeholders who comprised the Selection Panel.
Overall, 40-plus artists and thousands of community members contributed to creating the artwork displayed. Charge the Herd is located on the first floor of the stadium between the elevators next to the entry to the 716 Club.
Fernando recently joined the faculty ranks of RIT’s School of Design, which is lauded for its dual approach to education that embraces both technological and theoretical approaches to finding solutions to design problems. Graduates from the school have made their mark at companies like Adidas, Burberry, Duolingo, Walt Disney Company, and Amazon.
