Celebrating 10 Years of Scrappy but Happy

This year, Dublin Simon Community is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its annual book of artwork & poetry, “Scrappy but Happy”.

Every year, Scrappy but Happy features a selection of artwork and poetry created by clients of Dublin Simon’s Client Development service, which provides art classes and writing workshops for people experiencing homelessness and addiction. The book is a celebration of our clients’ creativity & bravery as they use art to explore and express their experiences.

In previous years, “Scrappy” has launched with an exhibition hosted by Powerscourt Townhouse Centre. This year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, we marked the occasion with a special online ceremony featuring a keynote speech from Dublin Author Roddy Doyle, who helped to launch the very first edition of “Scrappy but Happy” ten years ago.

At the event, we also launched a virtual version of the exhibition created pro-bono by the talented designer Ruby Corcoran, which you can view HERE on your laptop or PC or through the “Art Steps” app. Remember to press play on your screen so you can experience the audio-guided tour from start, to finish, to gift shop.

Scrappy but Happy 10 in hardback costs €20 and is available for purchase HERE 

Prints of the artworks are also available for purchase HERE

‘Whenever I’m told, ‘This will make you laugh’, I know it won’t. I don’t even smile; I sometimes groan. So, I’m always wary when I see the word ‘Happy’ in a title. ‘Shiny Happy People’ is a terrible song, ‘Happy Holidays’ makes me want to cry, ‘Happy Gilmore’ is near the top of my list of the worst films ever made. But reading this new edition of ‘Scrappy But Happy’ did, actually, make me happy -because of the quality of the writing. The writing is thought-provoking, varied, lively, intriguing, funny, distressing – and brilliant. And if the writing is brilliant, so are the writers. Writing is a solitary occupation. We’re alone in our heads as we write. But as I read ‘Scrappy But Happy’, I knew I was in very good company. And that, too, made me happy.’

– Roddy Doyle