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Author: Kirsty Geddes

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News

DMC Does Merry Christmas at The Stove

Dumfries Music Conference celebrated the festive season with one final gig of the year at The Stove last month. After a busy and productive year of live music, workshops, film, art and music industry discussions, they are delighted to have been able to round off the year with a special festive evening featuring four inspiring local acts, with support from Dumfries’ newest DJ entrepreneurs Double Down Disco.

The evening of live music featured Sapling and the launch of her EP ‘Present + Unearthed’. Sapling is an alt-pop/indie-pop artist and producer from Mouswald in Dumfries & Galloway, now based in Brighton. Having been influenced by indie, electronic and 60s/70s protest music while growing up, she now turns to her own expression of emotion and protest mixed with inspirations of dance, pop and soul.

She wrote her first song at the age of 8, performing in a band with her brother, who later hit the stages of The Wickerman Festival, The Brickyard in Carlisle and various venues in their hometown of Dumfries. Now living in Brighton, she writes, produces and records from her living room in her own home, self-taught through YouTube videos and learning by ear.

Sapling was joined by Major League Chemicals – a brand new five-piece from Ayrshire who are ready to cause a stir in the music scene. Over the last six months they have been working hard on their new project and were ready to debut their new material at the Christmas gig last month. For 2019, they’ve already got more shows lined up including a showcase in Aberdeen and a festival in Linlithgow. The band offers a unique and refreshing sound reminiscent of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds spliced with the golden rhythm of a Foals track. With the majority of the band members hailing from Ayr, we’re hoping this brings a new sound to the region, building some soulful bridges between these towns.

Young local musician, Kate Kyle, also took to the stage. The mesmeric singer/songwriter wowed the audience with her unique sound and voice. 2018 was a great year for Kate having played in Glasgow at Resonate Music Conference in November and taking home the Culture Award at The Young People’s Awards 2018. We’re looking forward to seeing what 2019 holds for Kate!

Opening the show was 20-year-old singer/songwriter Jenni Martin hailing from Dumfries. Jenni, who has been writing since a young age, delivered a face-melting performance with a sound straight from the crypt of Jim Morrison, by way of the lowland sands of Dumfries. We’re expecting big things from Jenni this year. Keep your eyes and ears open…

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Musings News

What we’re looking forward to in 2019!

We’re gearing up for another jam-packed year of exciting events, art and creativity to encourage, gather, educate and bring life back to our town centre so we thought we would share what things we’re exciting about in the year ahead. And, as always, if you’ve got an idea, need some space, advice on starting a project or want to partner with us – we’re here!

So here’s what we’re looking forward to in 2019 – diaries oot!

Literature

Our literature projects are all about unwrapping the potential of the written word to provoke and inspire new ways of thinking, and this year the Lowland Project will be taking a dramatic step forward with an ambitious community play. The play will be developed over the course of 2019 and will reflect our town in a transitional phase of its history. Stay tuned for more information, opportunities and events!

Nithraid

SAVE THE DATE: 31st August 2019!

Yes, that’s right – NITHRAID IS BACK! Dumfries’ annual River Festival and sail boat race held in celebration of our beloved River Nith is the biggest event in the Stove calendar and returns to the Mill Green for its SEVENTH year! Nithraid is getting bigger and better with artist commissions, stalls, performances, music, sound installations and art throughout our community, so don’t expect anything less for 2019!

Midsteeple Quarter

The Midsteeple Quarter Project had a brilliant year in 2018, rounding off with the news of the asset transfer of the former Bakers Oven to community ownership. For 2019, they are looking forward to creating an exciting programme of activity in The Oven which includes exhibitions, workshop spaces and events – all open to the public! Programme details will be shared soon, but in the meantime you can keep up to date with their news over on their website here: www.midsteeplequarter.org or by giving them a like on their Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/midsteeplequarter.

Dumfries Music Conference

After an incredibly successful 2018, the Dumfries Music Conference are back for 2019 with another programme of events for the year, offering people the opportunity to share ideas, learn new skills and make contact with some of the biggest movers and shakers in the industry. As well as their annual flagship conference in October, DMC’s 2019 programme includes ‘DMSHE’ in April – a female takeover month which will showcase the work of women working in the music industry. Expect panel discussions, workshops and a showcase gig – all led by some incredible females working throughout Scotland! #thefutureisfemale

The Stove Café

The Stove Café is the social heart of our social enterprise to bring new life to the town centre through culture and the arts and supporting community activity and career development for local people. This year, we’re looking forward to reimagining the café and making changes to improve on the look and feel of the space (The Stove Café 2.0!). Plans are busy being made at the moment but expect a big launch party in 2019 to celebrate a new era of the Stove Café!

Visual

The Stove building is a conversational space to connect with our projects in many ways, and this year we’re planning a ‘Public Space’ Exhibition to provoke discussion and engage everyone who steps into our doors. The Public Space Exhibition will use spaces within the Stove and outdoor public spaces, as well as use creative workshops, participatory activity and conversation events to welcome artists and the community to come together as well as host evening events and discussions located around the Stove and outdoor public spaces. We want artists and the community to come together!

Performance

Behavin’? This year we’re excited to be expanding our programme of performance, live art and theatre with an exciting mini festival in the works arriving this summer! To coincide with this, we’re working with the National Theatre of Scotland on the Start Residency. For more details click HERE!


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News

D-LUX invites Dumfries to PLAY BIG in the town centre!

D-LUX Festival of Light will return to Dumfries Town Centre for their third annual event, and this time they are taking video games out of the house and on to the High Street! The event runs from 31st January to 2nd February and will have a focus on the gaming industry, aiming to bring interactive storytelling to Dumfries.

D-LUX brings warmth, light and curiosity into Dumfries Town Centre at the darkest time of the year, where artists explore new ways of illuminating the darkness. For 2019, D-LUX want to celebrate gaming culture and bring it to the High Street. The games industry is now bigger than Hollywood, the audiences are bigger, the ambitions and bigger, the budgets are bigger; and Scotland is rather good at making them!

‘Our Moon’ projected in the town centre as part of the Burns Night Parade.

D-LUX intends to light up the town with large-scale video projections of much loved and retro video games, as well as illuminating sides of buildings and shop windows with stories that are normally shared at home. All the games will be played live, and you can take part and play the games or just wander through the town and watch!

D-LUX will creative a collision of the public realm with interactive digital storytelling. Some stories are white knuckle rides of pure adrenaline and jeopardy, some are staggeringly beautiful role-playing games taking place in distant Galaxies, some are digital communities building alternative models of society. All are part of our contemporary world and D-LUX want to bring them into the heart of Dumfries. They hope that by bringing what is often private into public display, they will be able to show the community of Dumfries what opportunities might be available to young people in the gaming industry in a playful and entertaining way.

The Oven lit up as part of the ‘Whose Hoose Is This’ Project with the Midsteeple Quarter.

To explore the gaming culture in Dumfries, D-LUX have commissioned avid gamer Peter Bain to be their Community Engagement Officer. He believes the most exciting part of the project is the community element, going on to explain that the gaming industry has been shifting more and more in favour of online gameplay, and while that global connectivity has its benefits, there’s still something to be said for keeping it local. “I’d much rather play a game with a friend sitting across the room than across the country or even the planet. Scaling that experience up for the whole town and creating a visual extravaganza on the High Street sounds to me like a lot of fun!”

D-LUX will take place across several locations over 31st January to 2nd February. All events are free and will be on from dark until late. If you would like to be involved or to keep up to date with their events, visit their website here: www.d-lux.org.uk or find ‘D-LUX’ on Facebook.

For 2019, D-LUX is sponsored by Mark Jardine of Jardine Funeral Directors.

Passers by play with the lights in the town centre as part of ‘Town Centre Illuminations’.
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News

Local Democracy Event and The Stove’s AGM!

Last night we held our yearly AGM which was a typically animated and entertaining Stovie night! We began this year with a discussion for our members around local democracy. Scottish Government has begun a national conversation about the need for more decisions to be made at a local level and they are asking for ideas about ways to do this.There has been much community-led activity around the country of late, with much of it being informal and grass roots. The question we posed at The Stove last night was how could this genuine popular activity become part of the larger power structure of our country?

In particular, we focused on the role that “alternative peoples town halls” could play – by this we mean places like The Stove that are publicly accessible and full of life and energy; places where conversations about ideas, change and projects naturally happen and places that people know they can always bring ideas or find out what is happening. Members talked about their experiences connected with The Stove and how Stove projects, discussions and partnerships created a fertile ground for the local community to get involved with making their own place for the future.

Conversations included:

  • Keeping democracy visible using empty shops etc. as “alternative town halls”;
  • Cultural activity being a brilliant way of keeping democratic process accessible and relevant for communities;
  • Uniting people around specific projects for their community being the catalyst for involving people in local decision making.

Then the AGM itself was a warm and supportive affair with an atmosphere of positivity about the last year and the future. The final accounts and Chairs Report will be posted on the website in 2 weeks time when we get the final audited accounts back from the accountant at the beginning of December.

Read the Tresurer’s Report here: Treasurer’s Report

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News

Dumfries’ first Sign & Dine at The Stove!

A fortnightly drop-in for the signing community to gather will be launched this week at The Stove!  The region’s first ‘Sign & Dine’ has been organised in association with the signing community and is a fortnightly drop-in in the cafe which is open to all to meet with one another, grab a coffee or just find out more about signing!
The initiative aims to engage both the hearing and deaf communities in signing and is the first regular event in what is hoped to be many more catering for the signing and deaf communities in the region.
Organiser and activist Eileen Cassells, who is an active and prominent member within the signing community has created this event as a welcoming place to come, whatever your level of sign language skills. It’s a universal language that can be used around the world. She is hoping to bridge the gap between the “hearing” and the “deaf” worlds, making it just “our” world. The event will allow the deaf to be heard and bring the whole community together, so you can “talk” to your deaf neighbour, friend, family member, or even that stranger you see every day.
We are delighted to be supporting such a great project and hope this grows similar initiatives across the region to engage the signing communities, both deaf and hearing. We want to be open to everyone in our community and encourage those learning or curious to pop in!
The first Sign & Dine is on the 16th of November at the Stove Café from 1pm followed by a launch reception at 7pm on the 16th featuring talks, refreshments and a chance to learn more about the project.

Categories
Musings

Contemporary Creative Currents in Scotland in memory of Gordon Robertson

Last week we were delighted to host the event ‘Contemporary Creative Currents in Scotland’ featuring two illustrated talks by national cultural figures –  Andrew Crummy and Collective Architecture. Presented by The Saltire Society and The Stove Network, the event was in memory of Gordon Robertson who was an active and much missed member of both organisations.

The first talk was by Ross Aichison of Collective Architecture; an award-winning, 40-strong, employee owned studio across Glasgow and was established to pursue themes of participation and sustainability in architecture. They are are one of the most exciting young practices in Scotland and unique in the way that they are structured to give all who work there a say in the work of the practice. Ross gave a fascinating acoount of the design ethos of collective and two specific current projects, one in Dundee and the other in the old school site in Lockerbie.The next talk was from Andrew Crummy, an independent artist. Andrew Crummy has a unique place in the history of community art in Scotland. His mother, Helen Crummy, started the highly influential Craigmillar Festival Society which began as a grass roots festival for local children and grew to become a launch pad for household names such as Billy Connoly, Bill Patterson and Jimmy Boyle.

Andrew grew up within this amazing cauldron of creativity and gave a first hand account of the people and the ethos of the community projects in Craigmillar and the associated works around the country. Andrew himself became an artist and is best known for leading the Great Tapestry of Scotland Project which involved over 1000 volunteer stitchers and is now being housed in a specially built venue in Galashiels.Andrew wrote the chapter on Scottish community art in the book published last year called ‘Culture, Democracy and the Right to Make Art – The British Community Arts Movement’. At the event, Andrew announced that the rights to this book has now been bought by Manchester University who have made it available as a free download link here

The evening was in memory of Gordon Robertson, a man of wide-ranging and eclectic interests, which were rooted deeply in his local community in Dumfries and his upbringing but ranged across genres from painting to writing and opera. He was particularly keen on international travel and a regular on exchanges to Gifhorn (Dumfries’ twin town in Germany) whilst at the same time nurturing a strong commitment to the culture and history of his beloved Dumfries.

A collection of his paintings was also exhibited in The Stove Cafe space. In Gordon’s later years, it was his artwork in particular which held his greatest interest – his style and his different use of mediums was wide ranging and topics were diverse with particular focus on local landmarks but also featured interpretations from his travels to Germany and Iceland. 

He frequently had his paintings exhibited in venues across the community, he was very knowledgable on multiple subjects and wrote many articles on topics of historical interest and would speak at local events – he was a passionate Burnsian and therefore a ‘weel kent’ face in the local community. If you ever passed him in the street and exchanged a pleasant ‘How are you Gordon’ you had to be prepared for a long response… and more often than not you would leave knowing something that you didn’t know before the encounter started!

His death at the age of 82 earlier this year will leave a void in the community and his enquiring mind along with his ability to retain a vast memory of historical knowledge even in his later years will be sadly missed. However, the small selection of his work which was exhibited will allow his memory to live on and is a fitting lasting legacy to a very special Doonhamer.