Happy House: when art meets living room walls

Those of you who read our last interview will understand we arrived late for our appointment with Sofie Teugels, creative brain behind Happy House. Therefore the least we could do was make a quick stop at patissier Joost Arijs to buy some of the best macarons in town. You can't buy time, but you sure can buy a caramel excuse.

Happy House is a recent and refreshing art concept in Ghent that gives young artists the opportunity to exhibit in a very informal atmosphere. During the third edition from 9 till 11 November, you can walk into Sofie’s living room to enjoy the creations of five young artists, ask what is driving them and even buy their work.

Time for an interview with this charming and inspiring lady!

THE RABBITS: Do you remember where, when and how you came up with the Happy House idea?

SOFIE TEUGELS (owner Happy House): I think it popped into my mind when talking to people. I know quite a lot of artists in my personal life and have always wanted to access the artistic area from a professional point of view as well. Unfortunately it's very difficult to enter the world of museums and galleries if you have no relevant experience. That's when I started to think: "Is there anything I can do myself?". I looked around and started with the things I had available: our house was a good setting and at a certain moment everything merged.

Moreover I wanted to step away from the arty farty gallery world in general. We once went to a gallery in Antwerp and didn't get a drink because we were young and dressed casually.

THE RABBITS: Did other initiatives or cities inspire you?  

SOFIE TEUGELS: Not in a direct way. But if you look at Berlin for example, you see a very dynamic place where a lot of things are going on. Of course in Berlin the situation has been growing historically since the reunification in 1989. Nevertheless I want this atmosphere in a city like Ghent as well and I hope I can contribute to that with Happy House. It has to remain an informal, spontaneous and organic event, not based upon rules. I don't want to meet certain expectations either. Qualitative art is of course a requirement but besides that it should be free. What we had in mind when thinking about Happy House was: why not?

THE RABBITS: How do you pick the artists for Happy House? Can anyone apply?

SOFIE TEUGELS: I look for them myself. For the first edition I got in touch with KASK and received the names of some promising students. I keep an eye on HISK and the “open ateliers” of Nucleo, and look into my own social circle as well. And of course the internet is a very handy tool to discover new talent.

THE RABBITS: Is it limited to local artists?

SOFIE TEUGELS: No, Happy House is not geographically limited: we have quite some artists living in Ghent but it’s not a requirement or condition. On the contrary, in the future we would also like to show some international work. However in the beginning you often need to start close to yourself for practical reasons.

THE RABBITS: We heard you mentioning the future. What are the plans for Happy House?

SOFIE TEUGELS: I can’t say I have particular plans, but there are opportunities from time to time. During the weekends before the third Happy House edition, you can go to domain De Campagne in Drongen for example where we took care of the young artists section in the Versus expo: experienced artists versus new artists.

THE RABBITS: Do you do this on your own?

SOFIE TEUGELS: Yes, at least for now. I do have people helping with the website and things like that, but right now I don't really have the ambition to involve a lot of people. It's also very site specific. Soon our rental contract will end and we will probably move. Actually I’m not sure how this will evolve: I don’t want to become a gallery because I don’t want to tie artists to it. And at this moment I don’t even have any resources to do so. I’m doing this because I believe in it and I don’t want to limit artists nor myself to only one direction.

THE RABBITS: How do you usually start organizing a Happy House edition?

SOFIE TEUGELS: I invite the artists to come here on beforehand so they can see the room and we can discuss where we will hang or put their works. Unlike in a gallery they don’t get a complete wall to dress up themselves and some are afraid their work will not be shown in its purest form or will not look optimal next to someone else’s work. But that is exactly what distinguishes Happy House from a regular art gallery. I want a real house feeling as well: the cupboards for example remain where they are and if certain artists don’t like that then I probably won’t work with them.

THE RABBITS: Did you ever receive negative comments on Happy House?

SOFIE TEUGELS: No, all comments are rather positive. However you need to take certain things into account: this edition we have an artist connected to a gallery. Therefore the gallery owners came to have a look to see if the setting was OK, since it might also influence their image indirectly. But they really liked and “approved” it. Well, I don’t want to be of any competition either; the concept is very different, I don’t think we’re in each other’s way.

THE RABBITS: Are the Happy House editions organized around a certain theme or subject?

SOFIE TEUGELS: No, it’s very simple: the artists are free to bring whatever they want to show. The only guidelines I give are: bring something that truly represents you today and that you really want to show to others. They should be able to show who they are and what they stand for through only a couple of works. Drawings, paintings, pictures, sculptures, it can be anything. And although the visitors can buy their work, it’s not a problem if they bring something which is not that “marketable”.

THE RABBITS: This third edition will be spread over 3 days for the first time. What was the reason behind that?

SOFIE TEUGELS: During the last editions a lot of people said they really wanted to come but couldn’t be here that particular day. So nothing more than practical reasons really.

Ladies and gentlemen, you have no caramel excuse this time. If you still can’t make it 9, 10 or 11 November, you can always go and have a look at Happy House Toont (Drongen) this weekend or next week from 1 till 4 November. Jeans and horrible shirts allowed.

www.happy-house.be