We are delighted to share that The Stove has been awarded Multi-Year Funding by Creative Scotland for the period of April 2025–April 2028. We are honoured to be part of the national portfolio of cultural organisations in Scotland for the third time. This decision feels like a true affirmation of the work we do.
The significant growth of funded organisations in our region demonstrates how fundamental the arts are to life and work in Dumfries & Galloway. We are proud to stand alongside six other creative organisations in the region—DG Arts Festival, Upland CIC, CatStrand, Wigtown Festival Company, CAMPLE LINE, and Paragon Music—who are all making valuable contributions to the cultural, social, and economic well-being of Scotland’s communities.
The Stove, as it stands today, has evolved from a conversation in a bar in 2011 among a group of artists. Our hope then remains the same as it is now: to use creativity and the arts to shape the future of our town. Collaboration has always been at the heart of our vision, and we dedicate this recent success to everyone we’ve worked with—the community across the region, the incredibly talented network of freelancers, and, of course, our members.
We’ve taken time to publish our message of thanks and gratitude for Creative Scotland’s support out of respect for the many organisations across Scotland who have not received the outcome they had hoped for. We acknowledge the challenges that lie ahead for many of these organisations who undoubtedly invested a tremendous amount of time and energy into the application process. As we stated previously in our response to the closure of Creative Scotland’s Open Project Fund, we stand in solidarity with creatives everywhere, as well as with public and third-sector workers, and offer our support in any way we can.
Looking ahead to the next three years, with the stability provided by this funding, we are pleased to continue with our ambitious plans. The Stove’s original mission for Dumfries—enabling creativity and creative people to make a positive contribution to the town and surrounding communities—has now expanded into a region-wide endeavour. Over the next three years, we will focus on delivering community-embedded arts practices with the communities of Dumfries, as well as advancing regional creative placemaking and creative sector development:
We’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the continued support from all our much-valued funders and partners, who enable our ongoing mission for Dumfries & Galloway.
When we look back on 2024 from a distance in years to come, there is no doubt that for many, it will be remembered as a tragically difficult year, one marked by events beyond their control. From the heartbreaking loss of life and destruction in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, to the relentless exploitation of populations by autocratic regimes in countries like Russia, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe, to the rise of divisive populist leaders spreading hate in the US, Hungary, Scandinavia, and Germany. The question we face now is whether this period will be remembered as a descent into deeper human self-destruction—or whether we can pull back from the brink. These are big and daunting questions—almost overwhelming when viewed from the perspective of our daily lives in a small corner of the world.
At The Stove, we’ve always approached such challenges by ‘digging where we stand’—focusing on making a positive impact within the world we can influence with the hope that multiple local efforts can, over time, connect and grow into something much larger. Our work is about involving people, connecting ideas, and using creativity to empower individuals to have a voice in the world around them, and to make positive change in their lives and communities. I believe this approach is foundational to pushing back against the rise of populism in our country, and perhaps it can serve as an example to others. Populism thrives on feelings of exclusion and disconnection—allowing manipulative leaders to exploit alienation and sow division. But we can resist this by doing the opposite: by including, involving, and creating opportunities for people to engage in positive change in the world around them.
These are big thoughts for the end of a tough year, but hopefully they can serve as a strong base for the new year. This requires collaboration and connection with other groups and individuals striving for a common goal. None of us can do this alone.
Looking back on 2024, I hope we can take pride in the small steps we are making in this big world. This year, we’ve hosted 264 public activities, reaching a total audience of 10,417 and engaging 6,835 active participants. We’ve also awarded 178 contracts to creative freelancers, totalling £187,000—42% of which were to people we had not commissioned before, and 31% to individuals under 25.
As we reflect on these figures and the impact of our work, we are reminded of the vital role that creativity plays in creating change. At our AGM earlier this month, we shared highlights from the past year and our ambitions for the year to come:
Looking ahead to 2025, like many Scottish arts organisations, we are awaiting Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding decision at the end of January with a mix of nervousness and hope. Whatever the outcome, we’ll make the best of it and are excited about the key initiatives we’ve planned for the year ahead.
It just remains to say a huge thank you, from all of us at The Stove, to everyone we’ve had the pleasure of working with this year—whether a participant, a collaborator, a partner (local, national, or international), a Stove member or supporter, or a Trustee. We deeply value every connection and are continually inspired by the commitment and passion of all those we work alongside.
Wishing you all peace and happiness as we welcome the new year, however you choose to celebrate. Here’s to another year of positivity, collaboration, and mutual support.
On 6th November, we had the privilege of leading a significant discussion at the Scottish Parliament, which focused on the power of Creative Placemaking. For us, this event marked a milestone in our ongoing mission to use creativity as a catalyst for positive change in communities. Co-hosted by local MSPs, from the South of Scotland, Emma Harper and Colin Smyth, the evening brought together artists, community leaders, policymakers, and funders from both Scotland and Ireland to explore how creative initiatives are reshaping local communities.
Over 70 individuals attended, each eager to share ideas and explore how creativity can drive cultural regeneration. We were able to share some insights from our Creative Placemaking Approach—published in partnership with South of Scotland Enterprise—and to highlight the work of the What We Do Nownetwork, which serves as a support structure for community-driven creative projects, connecting people and organisations that are committed to cultural regeneration.
It was encouraging to see MSPs Clare Adamson, Claire Baker, Ariane Burgess, and Maggie Chapman at the event, showing just how important cross-sector collaboration is in advancing the role of culture in society.
Emma Harper MSP, Colin Smyth MSP
Culture in Communities: Sharing Stories from the Grassroots
The success of the event was deeply embedded in the contribution from the people and their stories, reflections and experiences of creative placemaking in action. Maureen Kennelly, Director of Arts Council Ireland, Helen Trew, Co-Director of Art27 Scotland, and Rosie Lynch, Creative Director of Workhouse Union (Co. Kilkenny), joined us in discussing a wide range of innovative cultural projects, all of which are driving meaningful, positive change in communities.
What was truly special about this discussion was the diversity of ideas and experiences shared. We opened the floor to the audience, inviting them to share their own ideas and experiences, creating an inclusive dialogue that reflected the spirit of creative placemaking itself.
Maureen Kennelly, Arts Council IrelandHelen Trew, Art27 ScotlandRosie Lynch, Workhouse Union (Co. Kilkenny)
The Power of Creativity: Building Cross-Sector Partnerships
One of the central themes that emerged throughout the evening was the transformative power of creativity – how the arts and culture can forge cross-sector partnerships, foster long-term community transformation, and create real social impact. We focused on how culture can improve public health, inform community planning, and unlock new opportunities within the cultural sector.
Reflecting on the Energy in the Room
As the conversation unfolded, it was clear that creative projects hold tremendous potential to address urgent challenges—from public health and regeneration to social well-being. However, it also became evident that to fully harness this potential, we need better support from policymakers, more resources for creative initiatives, and a concerted effort to remove barriers to creative growth.
Moving Forward: Shared Purpose and Momentum
As the event came to a close, there was a strong sense of unity and momentum in the room. Attendees shared a collective determination to advocate for the resources, networks, and policies that will enable creative placemaking to continue thriving across Scotland and beyond.
We left the Scottish Parliament feeling energised and committed to continuing the conversation. The evening’s discussions reaffirmed our belief in the power of collaboration, and we are excited to keep working with others across sectors to expand the reach and impact of creative placemaking. It’s clear that this is just the beginning.
Watch the Full Session:
We invite you to join the conversation and share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #CultureInCommunities.
A general meeting of members of The Stove Network was held on Tuesday 12th November 2024 to discuss the motion to adopt new Articles of Association for the company. Seven members attended with a further 18 giving their apologies and appointing the Chair of the company as their proxy to vote on their behalf.
The meeting became a very engaged and positive discussion of the history and reputation of The Stove as an organisation for the community of Dumfries and Galloway which had always sought to act transparently and inclusively and that the new Articles of Association were very much in keeping with this tradition and appropriate to the evolving practice of The Stove. Suggestions were made about new policies supporting the rights of children in line with United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as adopted by Scottish Govt and adding game design to the list of creative activities promoted by The Stove.
The meeting voted on the motion:
“That the Articles of Association in the form annexed and initialled by a director of the Company for the purposes of identification be adopted as the Articles of Association of the Company in substitution for and to the exclusion of the existing Articles of Association of the Company.”
The motion was carried unanimously by the seven members in attendance and the eighteen members voting by proxy.
The new Articles of Association for The Stove Network have been ratified by the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator and will be uploaded at Companies House where they are publicly available to view. Anyone wishing a copy can write to [email protected]
Chair of the Board of Trustees, Lynsey Smith writes –
On Tuesday 12th November all Stove members are invited to an Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss and vote on a single resolution – to update the Articles of Association (aka. the constitution) of The Stove, as recommended by the Board of Trustees.
So, why are we doing this? Back in September 2023, the board set up a working group to review the governance of the organisation including the Articles of Association.
The three key reasons behind taking a fresh look at how the organisation was working at board level was threefold:
Awareness that certain relevant policies and legislation at national level had changed since we last reviewed our Articles of Association (2017) and we wanted to ensure our Articles were compliant with policies/legislation that could be relevant to The Stove.
A desire for more joined-up working between the board of trustees and staff – particularly in the context of the evolving practice of The Stove and the need to diversify income sources (e.g. through earned income) to best utilise the skills offered by the board and facilitate greater speed of decision-making
A desire to look at the working processes of the board more generally in the context of coming to the end of the first decade of The Stove’s existence.
The working group has carefully and thoroughly discussed issues and options for change, researched best practice examples and consulted with relevant organisations working in the field. Having agreed with the whole board that the changes we wished to make would require changes to the Articles of Association for The Stove we engaged the services of specialist charity lawyers Lindsays from Edinburgh. Lindsays have supported the board to best express the desired changes within best charitable practice and produced a new set of Articles of Association. The new Articles have now been assessed and passed by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and formally adopted by The Stove Board of Trustees at their meeting of 2nd September 2024 to be recommended to the Stove membership as the Articles of Association for the Company at an extraordinary general meeting where members can vote on this recommendation.
The significant changes to the Articles of Association can be summarised as follows:
Assertion of control of the company by the ‘community of benefit’. This has always been at the core of rules and working of The Stove and some slight changes are required by changes to Community Empowerment legislation to ensure we are fully compliant should we wish to use this legislation for example to initiate a Community Asset Transfer. Our area of community benefit is (and always has been) Dumfries and Galloway (D+G). The proposed change is to make it a rule of The Stove that a minimum of 75% of our membership is ordinarily resident in D+G. Currently 80% of our 637 members are resident in D+G.
To add a fifth charitable object (NB ‘the Community’ refers to D+G):
to promote the arts, including drama, dance, music, literature, poetry, painting, film making, photography and sculpture and other art forms and areas of artistic endeavour, and in particular (but without prejudice to the generality of that aim) with a view to the involvement of local communities within the Community;
to collaborate and form partnerships with individuals or organisations to benefit the Community through the arts;
to support community initiatives within the Community using the arts;
to use the arts to promote the benefits of social welfare of the inhabitants of the Community, without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation; political, religious or other opinions; and
to promote best practice and advance policy around creative community arts for the benefit of the Community.
This is to reflect the considerable work that The Stove is doing to advance the field of community arts practice at regional, national and international level and how this work benefits the region of D+G with new funding streams, commissions and career opportunities
Change the term of tenure for Trustees. Currently there is no maximum term for people to serve as Trustees. The new Articles assert that Trustees can serve a maximum of two 4 year terms, should they wish to serve for a second 4 year term members would vote on this at the AGM. People could put themselves forward for election to the board of trustees having served two terms only following a full year after the conclusion of their second term.
Provision for Executive Trustees to join the board. To support better joined up working between the board, the staff and members, the new Articles allow a limited number of Executive Trustees (staff members) to be board members. To get the best of both worlds (‘joined-up working’ and ‘community control’) very strict rules are in place to ensure all working processes of the board are, at all times, controlled by a majority of Non-Executive (voluntary) Trustees – for example the quorum for board meetings now includes the requirement for a majority of Non-Executive Trustees to be in attendance and conflict of interest processes are in place, meaning that staff can never be involved in decisions over their own employment etc.
Clarification of process for members putting themselves forward to join the Board of Trustees. The new Articles make provision for members to suggest themselves as Trustees of The Stove at any time.
Having gone through a year of research, consideration and advice, The Board of Trustees unanimously recommends these changes to members of The Stove Network and we look forward to welcoming you to the General Meeting on 12th November. If you would like to attend, please RSVP by Friday 8th November so that we have an idea of numbers and can ensure we can accommodate everyone comfortably etc.
Maya was recommissioned for Phase 2 of the Harbour project in July-November 2024 to continue their creative engagement process toward developing a community design concept for the new piece of dredged land within the Waterfront re-development. Alongside gathering local insight for the co-design process, Maya hosted a programme of events and engagement at Creative Stranraer to test ideas and continue engaging people in the creative vision for the future of the town under the regeneration. Visit Harbour Project Phase 2 Blog Update 1 here to read the first chapter of Maya’s journey.
Harbourland is an Opportunity to Make a Whole New Part of Stranraer.
As part of the process of extending the marina, some dredging must take place to make Loch Ryan deep enough for larger sailing boats. Within the plans for One Waterfront a new area of land will be created next to the East Pier using the material dredged from the loch. I’ve been working with local people to imagine what this new area of land could be:
‘The safest harbour is a world between land and sea. Harbourland is an ecosystem – a place to witness and protect many forms of life and provide a space for them to survive, thrive and connect with one another. It is place that belongs to everyone and somewhere that will show the best of Stranraer to visitors. Harbourland asks: ‘how can we act like the oyster and build an area that benefits both people and the coastal biodiversity? What are the types of ‘surfaces’ that communities in Stranraer can attach to and make their own?’
Harbourland Polling Station Results
If you came down and joined the thousands of tourists and celebrators at this year’s annual Oyster Festival, you may have come across the Harbourland polling station. As mentioned in the previous update, Oyster shells were historically used as the first ever ‘ballot cards’ during the early days of democracy in Ancient Greece. This year, I worked with the Rhins Mens Shed to create an interactive installation to bring this tradition back to modern-day Stranraer to inform the Harbourland consultation. Using the data gathered from countless conversations with local people, community organisations and from Raise The Sails Festival in April, I collated the main hopes for Harbourland into 5 key categories:
A sheltered place to sit and bide a while,
Tidal rock pools for coastal wildlife
A place to share stories of Stranraer
A space for community events and festivals
Interactive play structures.
Over the weekend, nearly 400 people cast their oyster shells to vote on what they would like to see as part of Harbourland. The oyster shells that are typically gathered for redistribution back into the loch were instead used to facilitate important conversations about the communities hopes for the future of the town, before making their way back to the water. We had older residents keen for interactive play structures so that they could ‘share the town with their grandchildren’ and ‘give them a reason to visit,’ along with younger generations of nature enthusiasts who were terribly excited at the prospect of tidal rock pools in Stranraer.
A landslide amount of votes for tidal rock pools was the outcome of the initial consultation as seen below. All of the information gathered from the Harbourland Polling Station is being fed directly back into the Waterfront regeneration.
Sandcastle Competition
At the end of September, I staged the Great Stranraer Sandcastle Competition on the shores of Agnew Park. I designed bespoke Stranraer sandcastle buckets inspired by the topographical oyster forms that I’ve been working with for participants to take home for future days by the Loch.
Sandcastle competitions are an ancient tradition for coastal communities, an excuse to spend time down by the water and exercise the creative potential of natural materials. We’re hoping to create a future waterfront that is a place where families want to gather and to feel more connected to. Stranraer’s waterfront regeneration is set to transform the town in new and exciting ways, and we’re keen for these designs to be co-created to ensure a future landscape that reflects the needs of all communities – both human and sea species!
Following from my ‘Siltcrete’ experiments, there’s a strong intention to make use of the dredged materials from Loch Ryan in the plans for the new piece of land in creative ways that benefit the unique natural environment. The competition gave people of all ages the opportunity to take part in co-designing future structures of the coast, to be inspired by the shapes of their local ecology, and to build ambitious sand sculptures down on a mostly disused shoreline.
Over 70 people came down to take part and Stranraer beach was transformed with people coming together to play and find inspiration from their native oyster beds. The landscape was soon transformed into a mass display of everyday creativity and celebration of local site-specific ecologies. Teams won prizes from categories including ‘best sportsmanship’ and ‘most imaginative concept’, and as ever, the creativity of Stranraer’s community didn’t disappoint. Some of the sand sculptures included the story of Esmerelda the lost mermaid, Oysterland castle, Ailsa Craig and her lighthouse, and a whale who loved smarties! By the time the tide was returning, the coastline was covered in hundreds of oyster forms, reminiscent of a community made oyster bed.
Harbour Hub Takeover
As the final installation within this latest phase of the Harbour project, I will be feeding back all of the community ideas, events and interventions that have taken place so far, and what there may be to look forward to in the next stage. This will take the form of a Harbour Takeover in the Creative Stranraer Hub (23 King Street). 3 display boards will detail each stage of the project, along with the initial design principles for the new piece of reclaimed land highlighted through creative consultation.
Alongside the 3 display boards themselves, there will also be a window screening of underwater footage commissioned by the SCAMP (Solway and Marine Partnership) project to captivate passers-by as our evenings begin to get darker. The film by the Newton Stewart Sub-Aqua Club and John Wallace documents the underwater world of the of the Solway Firth and gives us an insight into some of the ecosystems that we are aiming to foster through Harbourland. Huge thanks to the Community Re-Use Shop for their donation of a TV!
The final aspect of the takeover is a community boat report created by artist and consultant Anne Waggot-Knott. Anne was our researcher/recorder/reporter in Phase 1 of the Harbour project and has been embedded within the project since its conception. The Community Boat Reports are interactive, informative documents which are designed to be folded up into the perfect paper boat. These are available for all visitors to read, build and take home.
Come and visit the Harbour Takeover from October 16th through to November 11th at Stranraer Creative Hub.
Until Next Time…
If you want to find out more about the Harbourland proposal programme or the context of the project, please contact Maya on [email protected]
If you want to read more about the Creative Placemaking strategies currently taking place in Stranraer, please visit the What We Do Now resource written by Shawn Boden here.
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