The Stove Network is an arts and community organisation in the heart of Dumfries High Street. We’re a café, a meeting place and an events venue with a diverse programme stretching across music and literature, visual and public art, film and theatre, to town planning, architecture and design.

We use arts and creativity to encourage, to gather, learn and bring life back to our town centre. We see the arts not as something solely for an ‘arts audience’ but rather as a vital contribution to society on all fronts.

At the heart of everything we do is a love for Dumfries and the wider region. As the only arts-led development trust in Scotland, we work alongside our local authority, community organisations, local businesses and charities to create a vision for the future of Dumfries High Street. We’re aiming to create a place where culture, community and enterprise work hand-in-hand to support a new vision of the High Street.

We work hard to raise the profile of our creative community and our town through regular opportunities, workshops, events and projects.

We’re also a hub for the creative community of Dumfries. We’re a space for you to use. So if you have an idea, need some space or even advice on starting a project or want to partner with us – we’re here!

What Is Our Vision?

We want to help make Dumfries & Galloway a place where communities thrive through collaboration, enterprise and risk-taking. A place where everyone is supported to be involved creatively and take part in the celebration and making of our culture.

How Will We Do This?

Through place-based work and embedded arts practice, we will support creative conversation, enterprise and inclusion. We will bring together diverse communities to promote and develop well-being and sustainable local futures.

• We will:
  • build and sustain networks locally, regionally and nationally
  • support meaningful collaborations and active partnership for community development and place based working
  • foster a culture of kindness and respect and operate a zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment
  • develop potential in our community by creating pathways to new opportunities and learning
  • revitalise towns by supporting community solutions and developing public policy
  • use and promote creativity as a tool for communities to be part of shaping the future of their places and their wellbeing

Our Values

• The Stove is a strongly values-based network with clear beliefs in what we do and how we do it. Our values inform, guide and benchmark our day-to-day interactions, choices and practice:
  • Risk-taking
  • Collaboration
  • Empowerment
  • Positive disruptive change
  • Innovation
  • Inclusion