I would rather have a short, fun career than a long, soul-sucking one

• Name: Youniss
• Musician with interdisciplinary roots in visual and installation art
• Pronouns: he/him
• Age: 28
• Location: Mostly Antwerp, sometimes not  
• Instagram: @_.youniss

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What do you care most about, and how is it relevant to your art/practice? It could be a social issue, your community, yourself, or anything! 

The ability to be true to yourself and the world.

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What inspires you to care more for others, or to use your art/practice as a platform to do so? 

I feel like my practice is just a logbook of what I experience. I want to share my experiences and hope that people can resonate with it and start conversations because of it.

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How do you hope to inspire others? 

I’m a regular person doing things. Things that I care about because I hope other people also care about them.

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What type of change do you want to inspire in your community/environment? 

I just want to create opportunities for other people of colour to be able to create more freely, especially for the generations that will follow me. 

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How much influence do you think (y)our backgrounds have on (y)our art and practices? 

As all of my current work revolves around identity in some way, shape or form. I’d say I wouldn’t have a practice without my background.

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What are some challenges that you face while doing what you are passionate about? 

Trying to build a sustainable career without letting what I am passionate about become too monotonous and bland. I would rather have a short, fun career than a long, soul-sucking one. So aiming for something long and sustainable is a challenge.

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How do you define ‘community’? 

Community is aspiring to do things that impact not only you but those around you in a way that makes everyone grow, and vice versa.

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What is a ‘safe space’ for you? 

If the community focuses on impact and growth, then a safe space is for me to allow you to remain yourself no matter how the world around you evolves. 

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Is receiving care a privilege, a right? 

Everyone should be cared for in an ideal world, it shouldn’t be a privilege to feel like people and society cares.

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Do you think this generation is redefining care and community building? And how? 

I feel like people are doing more in the DIY mindset. Not waiting for the community to be facilitated by other instances (such as the government) and are trying to do more with what they know and care about. It only makes sense for people to try and help their community where they know and feel what is needed.

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What small acts of care do you hope to see more of?

I like that more people are going to support each other's causes in real life instead of being fixated on the social media follower number. Support a friend by showing up to their exhibitions or shows instead of just reposting something on Instagram with a fire emoji.

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How do you balance taking care of others and taking care of yourself? Do you make that distinction in the first place? 

It depends on the day, some days I’m putting myself first but other days I feel like I'm running around caring for others mostly. I feel like a good hallmark of a community is when people can – no questions asked – get help from peers AND also do the same for them. 

Support a friend by showing up to their exhibitions or shows instead of just reposting something on Instagram with a fire emoji

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Do you care about being cared about? 

I wonder what person doesn’t care about being cared about.

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What do you want to be remembered for? 

I want to be remembered for my unpredictability. 

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<div class="editorial-banner"> <div class=“editorial-credits”> Photos shot by @alexheuvink and Bilal Nti </div></div>