A couple days ago I wrote down the phrase "on becoming a cafe" in my notes after talking with Kazuma. It might sound silly, but from what I understand, it was an important step for pe hu to become a cafe on the first floor instead of just a gallery or shop.
I like imagining becoming a cafe. It means you need to be available for people to come hang out inside you. Maybe you have consistent open hours. And there is always some kind of music playing within you, to keep the vibe alive. The vibe is relaxed because there is no big pressure about buying something expensive inside a cafe. Thankfully most cafe food, since it's so ephemeral and usually for lunch, is pretty cheap. There is also no need to talk to anyone in a cafe, unless you want to. Maybe over the course of many months or years you get a little closer to the person who works at the cafe. But by "closer," I don't mean in the same way as a friend. It's quite a unique relationship because you spend a lot of time together, but you maybe still haven't talked a lot. (This is similar to how my roommate Becca goes to cafes and lunch places that know her name and even some of the employees admit dreaming about her at night.) Anyway, even though a cafe might not talk much too its visitors, they still hold some common agreements about what's a nice environment to hang out in, and what good food feels like, and maybe some similar music preferences.
Kazuma talked about how this way, people slowly over time come to know the gallery via the cafe. Maybe after they have been to the cafe a few times, and trust the environment and vibe, they find out what's happening on pe hu's other two floors (2nd floor -- shop and gallery, 3rd floor -- special AirBnb). Unlike a traditional gallery setting, where it is easy to feel intimidated and not want to spend relaxed time, the feeling of going into a gallery that is also a cafe might be a little easier and relaxing.
If I'm going to continue to make work of some kind (let's say design or art), I like the idea of making work to hang out with. Or even work that's meant to change the vibe of a place you are waiting, like a hospital or airport. Artwork to wait nearby... but specifically the vibe of it is welcoming but still mysterious and alive, somehow.
