KELLY CLARKSON - ListedMagazine.com

ART HOUSE
Remember when you were young
and Blue Peter presenters
magicked the most fantastical
treasures from old washing up liquid
bottles? And you were convinced that
you too could create such wonders;
except the washing up liquid bottle was
never empty, and heaven forbid you
empty it in the sink! Well now you’re an
adult, with everything you ever need to
create masterpieces. But where do you
go to feed your imagination? A trip to
the Art House in Southampton’s Bedford
Place, home of all things inventive,
innovative and frequently ingenious,
should do the trick.
Where does the Art House story begin?
Jani: Southampton has a great arts
scene but a bit of a gap where a
grassroots, community run arts space
could fi t. Cities like Brighton and Bristol
are awash with lovely little art cafes and
vintage clothes shops and many people
travel all that way to enjoy a good veggie
meal and shop for interesting crafts
and clothing... so we were delighted
to have the chance to bring that to
Bedford Place in Southampton and save
everybody’s carbon footprint!
in wonderland
There aren’t many cafes where you can while away an afternoon over a lentil pasty
and liquorice tea, explore two fl oors of funky artwork, and buy a vintage tank top on
your way out. Ellie Cowley talks to Art House owners Nina, Jani, Ziggy and Bik, about
the not-for-profi t enterprise creating a buzz in Southampton’s Bedford Place
How did the team meet?
Nina: The team all met through a shared
love of drumming kitchen utensils, cake,
entertaining and the urge to get people
together in a really creative positive
environment.
Let’s talk food. Who’s idea was the
vegetarian café?
Jani: The idea to serve food as part of
what we do fi tted well with our vision to
bring people together - eating is a very
friendly experience after all! I think our
focus on being sustainable made being a
vegetarian cafe an obvious choice.
I’m not so hot with a paintbrush, what
can I get up to at the Art House?
Nina: Over the next few months we’ll
be offering all sorts of courses and
activities from the more traditional Life
Drawing and Watercolour painting to
a fl ute group, guitar, Bodran (that’s an
Irish drum by the way) for beginners,
cookery demos (cooking is an art form
too!), collage, crochet, jewellery making,
drama, poetry... all of our activities
are open to beginners as well as more
experienced artists, so people can come
along without feeling they have to be the
next Picasso or Judy Dench.
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If the Art House had a motto it would
have to be....?
Nina: It doesn’t matter if it’s wonky (Bik
joins in) so long as it’s orange
Being non-for-profi t and independent,
how does the Art House survive?
Jani: A lot of people misunderstand the
concept of being non-profi t making - it
doesn’t mean we don’t need to make
any money! What it means is that what
would be called profi t is called ‘surplus’
as it’s not paid to shareholders, but put
back into the business to help it thrive
and grow.
What you got coming up you want to
shout about?
Jani: The Trash Cocktail Fashion show
- which started as a rather harebrained
idea (we have a lot of those!) and under
the guidance of our volunteer, Wai, is
turning into quite an event.... we’re all
going to be SUPER MODELS. We’ll also
be holding some really fun and inspiring
activities on International Women’s Day
on 08 March to fundraise for a local
women’s refuge.
The Art House Café, 81a Bedford Place
SO15 2DF. Tel: 023 8023 8582
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