As part of our AGM last Friday at #ParkingSpace, we were keen to discuss some of the broader issues surrounding the Stove’s values, the relationship between The Stove, Dumfries, and the role of public art.
We kicked off the debate with Open Jar Collective and Dot to Dot Active Arts and started to work on a ‘recipe’ for the Stove. This has felt like the somewhat experimental beginning of a process, which we are hoping to develop more fully over the next few months. We will be looking for more input from our Stove members during this time – more details to follow on this in the near future.
In the meantime, we’d like to share some of our considerations regarding vegetables…
The Controversial Pear: Controversial, Supportive, Non-hierarchical, No Prejudice, and No Judgement.
The Honesty Jar: Honest and Clear, Communicate, Inclusive, and Generous.
The Critical Thinking Scissors: Critical Thinking, Prepared to Take Risks, Visionary Work, Make People Feel Good, and Getting to the Point.The Blender of Fulfilment: Surprise Integration, Accessibility (Conceptual), Fun, Flavour, Cake, Fulfilment, and Hungry for more Challenge Yourself.The Catalytic Convertor Carton: Catalytic Convertor, People, Locality, Pride of Place, Openness, Inclusiveness, Eventfulness, and Joined-upness.The Unexpected Fish, The Banana Amongst Us, and The Partership’s Tongs: Partnerships and Working Together.
Excitement is building in stove central as we prepare for Parking Space this weekend, which sees the stove taking over an underground car park in Dumfries for two days.
Expect the unexpected, bring a warm coat, a torch, your skateboard…. we’ll provide the rest.
The Stove’s AGM-like-no-other will take place on Friday 17th October in the NCP Southergate car park from 6pm and is open to all, including non-members.
The AGM will be followed by a discussion evening over food, where we will be having a closer look at Situations’ New Rules of Public Art and the evolving role of public art in Dumfries and wider afield. We are pleased to announce that we will be joined in this by Stephen Pritchard of Dot to Dot Active Arts, and Alex Wilde and Hannah Brackston of Open Jar Collective.
The AGM and discussion evening are free to attend, but please RSVP to [email protected] for catering numbers.
Parking Space will run throughout Saturday 18th October, from noon until 10pm.
Level 1 – Street Games (noon – 4pm)
Level 2 – Open Skateboarding
Level 3 – Moving Image Installations (as part of South West Picture Show), including: Mirrorlands – Mark Lyken and Emma Dove
Level 4 – Gab Cab by Stove Artists in Residence, Mark Lyken and Emma Dove
Level 4 – Parking Space Cinema – a programme of artist films on the theme of popular protest and civic action. Film screenings will include: Nae Pasaran – Chappin’ – How to Start a Revolution – UCS 1 (fly on wall documentary about Clydeside shipyard work-in 1971)
Level 4 – Parking Space Cinema – 2pm Shell and 7pm Dogtown
All events are free, and will be announced over the coming days via our social media on facebook, our blog and twitter
Dumfries Artists Collective, The Stove Network, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum (SURF) Awards for 2014. Launched in 2003, these awards have become the benchmark for best practice in urban regeneration in Scotland.
The Stove Network has been shortlisted in the Creative category, which highlights best practice in arts-based projects that contribute to local regeneration efforts. The Stove Network has been nominated for its pioneering work in placing the arts and culture at the heart of regeneration efforts in Dumfries and, in particular, for its ‘innovative and exemplary arts practice in the context of national cultural and economic strategy’.
Commenting, Stove Curatorial Team Member Matt Baker said, ‘It is huge for us and for Dumfries itself to be getting this national recognition for what is happening in the town.’
‘The Stove Network works in close partnership with other arts organisations locally, such as Big Burns Supper, Moat Brae, Theatre Royal, and Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre, as well as DG Unlimited. SURF understands about partnership and this recognition is for all of us. The public really began to notice a buzz about the arts in the town after Dumfries was shortlisted as Scotland’s Creative Place for 2014 – the Creative Dumfries project was a massive communal effort by everyone connected to the arts and regeneration in the town.’
‘Currently, we are unable to use our premises on the High Street whilst DGC carries out essential accessibility improvements. Unfortunately, these works have been subject to significant delays and this has curtailed the projects that we have been able to do over the last few months. However, we hope people will have seen the potential of our work through events like the Nithraid in September. We are gathering an amazing group of people around our organisation – so just imagine what we will be able to do when we are fully functioning at 100 High Street!’
In June, The Stove Network worked with more than 40 local groups and individuals to create a ‘people’s charter’ for the town, which they launched as part of Guid Nychburris celebrations. The launch included members of the public hurling wet sponges from the town fountain at giant banners that changed colour when wet to reveal the Charter.
BMX and skaters take to the Whitesands as part of Nithraid 2014
On September 13th, the artists staged the second running of their Nithraid event, which saw more than 4,000 people reveal the potential of the town’s riverside car parks as public space with an artist’s street market, roller skating, skateboarding, and BMX. Nithraid is a ‘dangerous sailing race’ in which sail-powered craft negotiate the river Nith from the Solway Firth into the centre of the town on the highest tide of the year.
The winners of the SURF Awards 2014 will be announced at the Radisson Hotel in Glasgow on 2nd December.
Our third intrepid traveller, Uula Jero, will leave Balmaclellan on Saturday morning, picking up keen cyclists at New Galloway and making their way down to Wigtown, passing through the picturesque Galloway Forest Park. If cycling is your thing, you are very welcome to join Uula at New Galloway.
Uula will be somewhat unmistakable as he brings with him not just one of his amazing cargo bikes, but also a pedal-powered foundry! Remember the charcoal that the boats are bringing from Creetown (see the earlier post here); the foundry is charcoal-fuelled, and the Creetown charcoal will contribute to the heat necessary to melt and cast our very own Wigtown spoons! (More about Billy Marshall and his spoons here.)
One of our early foundry tests. We do not recommend coal as it is a bit too much for our liking! Image thanks to The Hidden Mill.
Early test pours in Balmaclellan.
The spoons will be cast in front of a live audience outside the Wigtown County Buildings as part of Trading Journeys on Saturday evening, the 27th of September. We are making a very limited edition of spoons, so if you would like your very own Wigtown spoon, come along to our spoon mould crafting workshop during the afternoon. Workshops will take place from 12 noon in Southfield Park and are free to everyone.
Our foundry had its first outing as part of our Nithraid earlier this month in Dumfries, where we cast Nithraid buttons! Image: Galina Walls.
Mould making workshops as part of Nithraid 2014. The moulds are made from cuttlefish if you are interested! Image: Galina Walls.
We will also be holding drumming and flag-making workshops in preparation for our procession prior to the spoon pour. The procession is open to all to join in.
Full details of the running order of the event are available on our website’s Trading Journeys page here.
If boats aren’t your thing, and you like a more measured pace, keep your eyes open for Alice Francis, who is travelling with her horse and making a three-day trip to Wigtown from Auchencairn.
As they travel, Alice will be creating a standard that will form the head of the Wigtown Trading Journey’s procession that will take place on Saturday afternoon. She will also be recounting the story of Billy Marshall, who supposedly lived for 120 years in southern Scotland and always claimed to be the “King of the Gypsies.” He was also referred to as the “Caird of Barullion.” Caird refers to a skilled gypsy, and it originates from ceardon, meaning a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft. Barullion is the name of a range of hills in the county of Wigtownshire in the council area of Dumfries and Galloway in southern Scotland. Another so-called title of his was “King of the Randies.” The word “Randies” in this context may refer to a type of macho, virile man who despised all rule and authority.
Billy Marshall is buried in Kirkcudbright, and his grave features the curious crossed spoons on the reverse.
The crossed spoons may possibly represent a wish for his people that they may never go hungry, while the coins at his gravesite might have been left with a good luck wish. Originally, they were left for a poor travelling gypsy to be able to buy another meal. The spoons probably represent horn spoons, which have been popular in Europe and Scandinavia as far back as medieval times and were also popular with the Vikings. Horn spoon making has been a tradition among gypsies since the 1600s and possibly had been a labour of love for Billy Marshall.
If you find that you have a hidden talent for spoon playing, bring that new talent along to Wigtown on Saturday; it’s bound to come in useful!
For more details on the Stove Network’s Trading Journeys, head across to our project page [here].
Suffering from withdrawal symptoms from last weekends Nithraid? Never fear, there is another opportunity to join us as we make the journey to Wigtown Book Festival on Saturday, 27th of September. And we’re not just taking the A75 from Dumfries. Stove members are each making their own journeys the the former county town with its inheritance of martyrdom in Covenanting times and its modern booktown status, once the central crossroads in trading routes and pilgrimage routes through the West of the region.
First off Mark Zygadlo will be hoping for a little more wind than on Nithraid day as he and a flotilla of intrepid sailors make the journey across the Cree from the Ferry Bell at Creetown across the water to the old Wigtown Harbour. This flotilla is being kept to small numbers for safety reasons but if you wish to join the sailors there may still be an additional space left, please get in touch asap to Mark: [email protected]
Maneuvers 1 and 2, the boats are to be launched from a small slipway alongside the A75 before paddling under the road bridge.
Each boat will carry a small cargo of charcoal made at Creetown Primary School with the help of Phoebe and Will Marshall. This will be used to power Uula Jero’s pedal-powered foundry… but more on that later!
The route follows the Cree before making it’s way up the Bladnoch. The flotilla will be guided by Alan Wykes in his motor who knows the Bladnoch channel.
For more details on the stove network’s Trading Journeys, head across to our project page here
We use cookies to improve your experience on our website, analyse traffic, and personalise content. By using our site, you consent to the use of cookies. Please read our privacy policy for more information.
Cookie Preferences
Manage your cookie preferences below:
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Name
Description
Duration
Cookie Preferences
This cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.
30 days
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.
