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Musings Project Updates

The Show Must Go On

Fair ground ride in motion

Words by Darryl V Winter

Autumn has rolled in, and along with her came the wagons, trailers and caravans, of the Showpeople. Generations of locals begin tumbling down to the Whitesands, on their way to the Rood Fair. The River Nith rumbles by, absorbing the lights, loud tunes and laughter. For over 400 years, people have been celebrating in Dumfries around this date, once a procession welcomed in by circus elephants, The Showpeople now must face the mammoth uncertainty of their future on the banks of this insatiable river. 

Floods of Doonhamers flow down to chase an ecstatic sense of community, as Grannies bring their Grandweans and teens celebrate a social gathering that has more substance than the digital worlds in which they usually inhabit. Bulbs flash and music blasts as the faces of Dumfries luminate, remembering their first time on the Waltzer, their first prize on Hook-a-Duck, and the September wind in their ears as they look upon This Fair Toon from the apex of the Ferris Wheel.

The Shows afford many a sense of appreciation not often felt in the mundane; a time-capsule, butterflies in the belly, a chance to bring life to a tradition so deeply felt in the memories of the local people. A merging of communities like this is becoming increasingly rare, most notably post-pandemic. While the Showpeople stared the demise of their livelihood in the eye, while the paintwork of their great machines peeled at the seams, a cultural regression was apparent, our biannual chance for collective joy, free of care and full of noise, created an isolating silence. 

The scent of candyfloss and donuts swirl and mingle with diesel fumes as the congregation builds throughout each night. Nostalgic scents erode the financial senses as parents post a day’s wages into a 10p machine and rejoice at the jackpot – a fiver. While the world’s wallets tighten and the evenings draw in, we must afford ourselves a few fleeting hours of fun and celebration. The fair brings people a sense of freedom, a reminder that it is in our nature to laugh, take chances and gamble gleefully, outwith our usual fields and steadings.

Although Halloween is over a month before the Rood Fair, it is a time when magic can be felt in the air. We turn our pockets out as we transform into cackling shapeshifters, flying where broomsticks once fell. Clown’s faces are drenched by watercannons, and the workers warm their hands with a well-stewed cuppa. In the flustering glare, tricks are performed and the jack-of-all-trades master their performative pieces, their lives work, a shadowy vendor, spinner or operator in an obscure scene. 

Soundbites of airhorns blast into the night as riders enter the dance, grinning maniacally at their family and friends, a shared excitement across the ages. The memories rush back as the ageing sample plays through the army of speakers, watching the wizened Showman embody his heritage and purpose. As buttons are pressed, a fleeting thought passes his weathered brow, how much longer can this pilgrimage to Dumfries last, with the rising waters of the Nith ever-encroaching on his family heirloom? 

Many remember their travels with the Showpeople. Being picked up in small towns and travelling with the families, meeting friends, earning a few quid and for some, finding love. A mother and father look to their child as they are swirled around in a teacup, rain dripping from the end of their noses, reliving the memory of whirling round and round on the Coronation Waltzer, once a young worker and a thrill-seeker, now parents, pirouetting once again, years down the line. They, like many others, live a life that embodies the hope that this magnetic event must live on to resonate through the ages.

Where would the folk be if not here? Deep within a crystal ball images appear of mothers and bairns, watching the relentless rain replenish the river, unastonished. Teens and their video games sit in their rooms, apathetic and becoming ever more digitally present, whilst organisations push to have something as inclusive and homely as this spectacle. Insights on the future fade as fate falls in the hands of the people, the beholders, in the dark and awakening to the prospects before them. 

Biddall’s Bridge stands proudly at the lower end of the fair, a gifted landmark from the Biddall’s, a valued family of Showpeople, based in Dumfries throughout WWII. This structure evokes subtler, parallel ponderings of uneasiness and excitement to the folk that cross it. Children bounce along it, with fraught mothers at their side, clinging to the handrails, begging them to “stop jumping!”, as the suspension bridge wobbles before them. A girl catches a glimpse of the children crossing the bridge from atop the KMG Booster, a sky-scraping pendulum ride, and feels the familiar lurch of her stomach as she is plummeted downward, clinging to the restraints. The Showpeople: forever mastering security under the illusion of death-traps.

As the rides are compacted on to trailers and trucks once more, uncertainty fills the air like generator’s smog, but without the candyfloss top note. The sound of airhorns now no more than an echo as drips still drop from the end of noses, while we consider the loss of this clockwork spectacle of vibrancy and collaboration. Fairgoers hope for her return as determinedly as she ever has, moving with the times, but not quite as fast as the fumbling world that surrounds us.

Like the course of the river, The Fair must find a way to proceed in the face of adversity, just as society must continue to recognise and preserve cultural practises which have benefitted communities for centuries. In the minds eye, a vision of The Fair yet to come must be observed and manifested, the invaluable riches of this collaboration cannot embody what she is in danger of becoming: a ghost, a figment, or just another parting thrill.  

Images by Caitlin Wells

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News Project Updates

Moving Stories Invites You to Pause, and Reflect on How We Move

Over the past few months, bold, colourful posters have been appearing across Dumfries and Galloway.

Communities become connected. Streets become stories. Pathways become possibilities.

They’ve been visible in bus shelters, shop windows, public spaces and community venues across the region.

These posters are part of Moving Stories, a region-wide creative campaign led by The Stove Network. Designed to spark curiosity as an invitation to pause during everyday journeys and reflect on how we move. 

What Is Moving Stories?

Moving Stories is a region-wide creative campaign celebrating the everyday journeys that connect communities across Dumfries and Galloway.

It is developed and delivered by The Stove Network — a Dumfries-based creative placemaking organisation working across the region — and supported by Dumfries and Galloway Council as part of a wider programme of transport improvements.

Every journey is part of something bigger. From the first step to the final stop, movement connects us to place, to people and to possibility. Walking to school, wheeling to see a pal, taking the bus to work — these are the movements that shape how we live, connect and belong.

Applying The Stove Network’s Creative Placemaking approach at a regional scale, Moving Stories brings people together around active and sustainable travel — focusing on how and why people move, as well as the routes, services and transport networks they already use. The campaign also explores new opportunities as they emerge through lived experience, local identity and shared stories.

Since launching on 1st December, Moving Stories has shared films, conversations and creative moments that reflect how everyday movement is happening across the region. It has built relationships with partners and communities, launched a public survey, and begun gathering real-life stories of travel in Dumfries and Galloway.

The posters are visible markers of that ongoing work. 

Why Here, Why Now?

Dumfries and Galloway Council is delivering a £15.6 million programme of transport improvements designed to support more “joined-up journeys” across the region — bringing new active and sustainable transport options to communities, making greener transport more accessible, and strengthening the existing transport network.

This includes:

Multi-Modal Transport Hubs
Making it easier to switch between walking, cycling, buses and electric vehicles.

Bus Improvements
Joined-up improvements across the network, including new electric buses, real-time passenger information and enhanced waiting facilities — improving reliability, accessibility and passenger experience.

Cycle Infrastructure Improvements
Supporting everyday journeys and leisure use, strengthening local connections and visitor access.

This programme strengthens the region’s transport infrastructure, creates new opportunities for joined-up journeys and improved connectivity, and supports access to work, education, healthcare and community life — making everyday travel easier.

Moving Stories responds by bringing these changes into public view — highlighting positive, real-life stories from people who use the existing transport network in their day-to-day lives: a bus journey to work, a bike ride to college, wheeling to see a pal or walking along familiar routes.

By sharing these lived experiences, the campaign builds awareness and understanding of how active and sustainable travel supports everyday life across Dumfries and Galloway — helping us get where we need to go.

The phrases you are seeing — Communities become connected. Streets become stories. Pathways become possibilities — are reminders that movement is not only about routes and services, but about connection, identity and shared experience.

When people move, places connect.

What’s Next?

Across nine communities, The Stove is working with local groups, creative practitioners and partners to develop place-specific creative interventions that explore how movement shapes daily life.

From sonic walking trails and youth-led biking projects to short films, public installations, workshops and story-gathering events, each intervention reflects local identity while connecting into the wider regional programme of transport improvements.

Creative Placemaking in Action

This is The Stove’s creative placemaking practice at work — embedding creativity within everyday places and relationships, creating visible moments that help people recognise how joined-up journeys function in real life, and opening up conversation about how we move now and how we might move in the future.

Moving Stories is underpinned by a legacy-focused approach that encourages longer-term thinking beyond the initial creative interventions. Ideas, relationships and projects that emerge through this work are offered follow-on support through capacity building, skills development and tailored advice around accessibility, partnership working and future resourcing, where this is useful and timely for local partners.

By connecting activity across communities through a shared regional narrative, the programme strengthens collaboration between places and supports the gradual development of regional networks. In this way, Moving Stories positions active and sustainable travel not only as infrastructure, but as a catalyst for ongoing connection, wellbeing and community-led change across Dumfries and Galloway.

Coming Soon

On Monday 23rd February, the next Moving Stories film will premiere — focusing on bus travel and the role it plays in connecting communities across the region.

New films, stories and creative work from across the nine communities will continue to unfold in the coming weeks.

Join the Movement

Explore the Full Project → Visit the Moving Stories Website
Share your Experience → Complete the Survey
Follow the Journey → Moving Stories on Instagram

Moving Stories is a region-wide creative campaign developed by The Stove Network, supported by Dumfries and Galloway Council, and funded by the UK Government.

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News Project Updates

WRITE: A Community Anthology

Each month in the Stove Cafe, author Karl Drinkwater hosts ‘WRITE’ – a creative writing workshop. Sessions are guided by thought-provoking prompts, offering dedicated time for free-flowing expression. Afterwards, participants have the opportunity to share their creations within the supportive group, receiving valuable tips to enhance their writing skills and boost confidence.

Over the last year, participants have shared their workings that have been borne from prompts from WRITE. Read a selection of works below.

The Gift

Taking a break 

from his bench

the clock restorer’s

mind turned within wheels.

Absorbed in measuring

minutes and hours

how had he permitted

years 

to escape?

Was pride in precision 

simply an illusion 

of keeping time?

A young boy

gazed longingly 

at clocks

in the dusty window

as another child 

may have eyed                      

jars of tempting toffees

reckoning 

how many sweets 

could be gained

for clinking coins.

Fresh eyes 

eager to uncover 

secret workings

spy 

as

cogs mesh

pivots revolve

flywheels spin

coils unwind.

On an impulse 

the clock restorer 

beckoned.

An estimation made 

pocket money 

exchanged 

for a slate-cased clock

in want of renovation.

On the next impulse

the clock restorer 

lifted down

a box of parts.

A gift 

a wondrous trove 

of mechanical magic

awaiting discovery.

Boyhood

many 

intricate tasks 

ago.

A rhythm set 

to guide his tracks

the boy

though older now

still unpacks the box

selecting 

pieces

by name and designation.

Understanding 

the drive to impart 

knowledge

skills

art.

Polished

restored to working order

the slate-cased clock

marks 

progress.

At its centre

escapement 

locks 

frees 

locks

frees

locks

frees

whilst 

its heart

beats

encouragement 

motivation

belief.

Remembering an encounter with the clock restorer of Easton in Gordano, 1966.

© Jeanette Abendstern for and with Brian Leaver 

Resolution

Resolution, wake up, make a change.

“We can’t do nothing” is the sad refrain.

Oh oops the Tories got voted in again

But I’ll never vote to put our grandkids in chains

Make a resolution get political, be more critical

Stop being arthritical, intellectually paralytical

Enough of being cynical

Sitting doing nothing is just parasitical.

Here’s what will happen if we just leave be

Money will spend into politics to make money

More money more as they build a dynasty

Neo-lords raised up off our kids not being free

But the billionaires,

Their worst nightmares

Are angry stares, our righteous glares

As we organise, challenge and protest

Step up to demand what’s best

Loss and damage

Free school meals

Working lives less stressed

Win back some rights

Without worrying about arrest

They’re murdering Palestine

Our industries are in decline

It’s not all fine

So now’s the right time

So come on make a January resolution

Build a revolution

It’s the solution

Solve pollution

Draft a constitution

The House of Lords needs dissolution

Corporate criminals need retribution

If you do one useful thing this year

Decide to get your bum in gear

Talk politics to everyone without any fear

Because a better world really is just near

And the You that makes it happen is sat right here.

© Simon Jones

The Mountain

Early gleaming of the sun kissing that beautiful peak of the mountain,

Radiating its light like silver stars in the sky,

Catching the eyes and touching the hearts of millions,

Spreading profound joy and leaving a wonderful memory in hearts.

Viewing these beautiful peaks takes away all pain and suffering,

Warming your heart and making your day bright.

Borrowing your willing ears, it allows you to listen to that tranquil music,

Secretly asking you to smell that calm air as if you were touching stars.

Sometimes it makes you speechless and takes your breath away,

Cosseting you with its natural beauty and bringing you more peace.

Nothing can erase such beautiful memories that stole your heart away,

They remind you that they are still alive snuggling up to that mountain.

You remain deep inside the heart of it, full of great gratitude and deep affection.

They bring back the beautiful memories of the mountain,

Ever smiling and living in its eternal beauty.

A beauty of nature, of peace, and of serenity.

© Sherima Pradhan

Rubble Kings

Like the torch of a slow burn
your best days are done,
you may well blaze skylines –
we’ll rebuild with the bones of
you murdering tyrants!
hack hard at your roots purge your truth
when you waken at twilight

No frills, no thrills,
no pills for your ills

Join in, gut your own out as
bleeding rats raze your house,
vomiting secrets your conscience deleted
turned cheeks get smacked, mirrors crack
your bubbles burst
forlorn king of rubble and dust

no shimmers or glimmers
no breakfast no dinners

Our ancestors weeping while war
keeps repeating. Lost souls fast asleep,
their bodies smart, crawl and creep.
Yearning for drugs cut with violence,
washed down with radio silence

no home fires burning
empty guts churning

The stench threat of warlords unbothered
in Westminster’s corridors
by children in Palestine wailing in horror
flames fanned with fear,
Tory papers, online warriors …

No pills for your ills

No pills

For

Your ills

© Davey Payne

The Princess

Once upon a clear crisp evening, while I gazed upon the stars, white gleaming,
A lone, cold tear raced t’ward my chin, broken spirit.
My heart beat thudded beneath my breast, as I tossed all thoughts of my moral quest,
I slithered to bed for desperate rest and whispered “sleep a minute.”
“Blasted storm within my brain,” I muttered, “sleep a minute” –
Yet the storm raged on, broken spirit.

Retreating, I rose and paced my chamber, mind still racing in weary labour.
These stone walls ensnared my soul, broken spirit.
Desperate for release, locks dancing with the night’s breeze,
Turning towards the dark abyss, sighing “Please! I know my limit,”
Turret window dominating the land, I yelled out “I know my limit!”
Silence. Broken spirit.

A moment later, a pitter patter, has someone heard my mournful chatter?
Is this it, are my prayers heard, restoring my broken spirit?
“Please god, my merciful master, I’ll repent to any pastor,
Free my soul from this disaster, with just one visit.”
I listened still and I listened sure, “just one visit,”
Nobody came – broken spirit.

The foreign noises, confused me still, as I peered out from my window sill,
Till the frayed ‘supper rope’ was cast before me, broken spirit.
I gathered the pot, rancid rotten veg – my lot.
Recoil on my face, excitement shot, rope returned to the captor, git!
How dare she imprison me in this perilous tower, my captor git!
To see out my life’s days, broken spirit.

Sitting still, engaged in siege, once a girl of bestowed prestige,
Till stolen from my family home, by a broken spirit.
Body against my chamber walls, sinking, I dreamed a peaceful thinking,
Of a prince, on a horse, armour clinking, rescued from the woeful pit,
Nonsense! He knows not that I’m here, in my woeful pit,
In my infertile sanctuary, with this, my broken spirit.

© Rosie Squires-Cowan

Castle of My Mind

Within my sanctuary, I am under siege,

Anxiety and stress – my only liege.

No guards on the gates, no lock on the door,

Most days I struggle to rise from the floor.

No battles raging across the plains,

Yet everyday crippling chest pains.

Outside boasts peacefully – calm and tranquil,

Inside, dark and flustered, consuming my pill,

Fire lit, body sheltered and warm,

Mind not protected from the torrid storm,

Food and water in plentiful supply,

No tears when I’m broken, cheeks are dry.

Family gathers to enjoy our suppers,

Failing to stay present, my mind scuppers,

No song or dance to raise the spirit,

Tortured by demons; Devil, Ifrit.

Begging the torment will be over soon,

Hoping screams fade to a lighter tune,

Peace will reign as it did before,

Pray, happiness return once more.

© Justin Squires-Cowan

Last Christmas – Excerpt

The 4×4 breathing technique isn’t working. She’s forced to rummage through her bag, grabbing at the various sheets of pills she always carries with her. Like a baby blanket. A safety net.

A cheeky valium or two just to take the edge off, she reasons.

Freya sashays her way to the train’s buffet carriage. Her eyes dance across the fridge doors and their shining contents, landing decisively upon the alcohol section. It is 11:11am. A frozen, snowy Monday. She averts the judging gaze of the woman behind the counter who makes a point of repeatedly looking at her watch, with cocked brows.

Message received, bitch.

A hard stare and smirk as she pays. Returning to her seat, she washes the pills down with a pre-mixed can or two. Or was it three? Either way, despite all that, by the time the train pulls in, she feels electric. Feels…silly.

***

She squeezes her way through the bustling crowds, out of the frosty hustle of King’s Cross Station and into The Black Phoenix, she is struck by the warmth, laughter and stale tobacco lacing the air. Years of spilt Chardonnay and ale, trodden deep into the paisley carpet. She somewhat trips in across the threshold, for the uncharacteristic fact she is wearing heels today. For him. She stamps and shakes the snow from herself. Her eyes, searchlights seeking.

Is he here? Breeeeathe.

Her heart is racing. Her cheeks burn a horny shade of fuchsia.

I can always blame it on the cold.

She’s never been subtle. Shit at poker. She’d named her face ‘Judas’ in the mirror one messy night, years ago in some stranger’s bathroom. She takes in the festive glow of the twinkling lights draped around the bar and windows. George Michael’s ‘Last Christmas’ croons through the speakers, weaving its way between loud cackles and hushed chats. A smile slithers across her lips.

So this is why they call it the silly season. Ha.

She bites her lower lip. Silly is an understatement.

The heat pumping throughout the cosy pub feels especially luxurious, considering the whipping cold outside and the crippling recession which has stifled the country with its cost of living. Old friends with grand bellies sit around small wooden tables, chuckling with nostalgic glee. The knitted sleeves of xmas jumpers wipe froth from whiskered chins.

A ruddy faced barfly calls out:

‘Oi oi, Captain, another, eh? Good lad,’ as he proudly slams his empty pint glass down. A leathered wink and a discreet stumble. Glasses clank loudly as they collide, amber contents splashing and spilling out.

© S.J. Wildling

Read the full short story here.

Through The Stars Dumfries

You can see Dumfries from the Moon. On trips to the observatory decks I would point the large lens telescope towards the Southern part of Scotland and have a better look at what we left over. Others who were crammed here in the living centres would use the time they bought to look at the parts of history they wished they had visited. My Grandfather and I would often study the old images of the town stored via projections from the company data packs. Grandfather would always show me the pictures he had saved of the place our family came from. We couldn’t take them too far away from the Grid though, stray from the network and the company would delete them regardless of payment. The charge for reactivating any memory was too much for most, myself included. Most of the images stored in the Grid were constructed from various accounts and memories of those who had left us. The ones Grandfather and I had were real though, at least to me.

The first thing I always noticed about them was the sky. Sometimes it was a bright, radiant blue but mostly it seemed to settle on a dull grey. The main thing was that it was there. No glass above your head, no sealed domes to control the atmosphere, just an expansive sky you can look up to at any time. The people would walk places without the constant connection to the Grid to monitor everywhere they were going.

On the last visit to the observatory deck I asked my Grandfather about going back to Dumfries.

“Very dangerous” he replied.

© Cameron Phillips

Read the full short story here.

Hosted by multi-genre author and editor Karl Drinkwater, WRITE! is designed to allow you to play with words and construct short or longer pieces of work, whichever you desire, and it is open to all abilities!

If you would like to attend the next WRITE! session, click here.

To learn more about Karl his website, click here.

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News Project Updates

Maya Edwards: Harbourland Phase 2

Context

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.

Categories
News Project Updates

Off The Margin with The Stove Network and WWDN Digital

WWDN Digital works with community groups and organisations to set up and run digital spaces, host collaborative programmes, and create shared online resources to increase communities’ access to technology and training in digital media skills. As part of its launch, The Stove Network hosted Off the Margin, a micro-festival celebrating Dumfries’ print heritage.

In this age of digital media outlets and information sharing, Off the Margin delved into the print heritage of Dumfries and investigative journalism more broadly.

As part of this programme, The Stove’s Artistic Director Martin O’Neill sat down for an insightful discussion with a panel of speakers whose expertise ranged from the history of investigative journalism to Riso printing techniques and working in the former news and print spaces of Dumfries’ high street.

While examining the current landscape in Scottish grassroots print and journalism, the panel tackled how communities, creatives, and journalists can reclaim their agency while navigating an era marked by an increasingly divided mass media and heightened public scrutiny regarding the accuracy and biases of printed media. This discussion revealed insights and sparked a hopeful community discussion on the potential future of print, media, and journalism in Dumfries and Galloway.

The discussion directly followed a screening of film-work Imprints in Time by Artist John Wallace, documenting the master printmakers and enduring machinery still in use at Solway Print while uncovering the printing heritage of Dumfries town centre.

The panel comprised of Judith Hewitt (Museums Curator East for the Dumfries and Galloway Council), Johnny Gailey (Out of the Blueprint Project Manager), Karen Goodwin (Investigative Journalist and Co-Editor of The Ferret), Pete Fortune (Doonhamer* and Printmaker), and John Wallace (Artist & Filmmaker).

Each panellist brought unique and specialised knowledge into the discussion. Hewitt shared her expertise on the unique history of early print protest, bringing to life Doonhamers’ struggles and lived experiences in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. From historical accounts of the Kings Arms (now Boots) to outlining how individuals used print to protest food inequalities, Hewitt brought with her a wealth of knowledge that leaves you returning for more. Out with the panel, she oversaw the exhibition ‘Fighting for Justice: Strikes and Protests in Dumfries 1770-1920’ as part of the Off the Margin period.

Gailey brought over a decade of experience in printmaking and youth engagement to the conversation, underlining the importance of teaching young people this skill and providing them with the means and opportunities to grow their confidence and creativity. At Out of the Blueprint, the eco-studio he co-manages in Leith, Edinburgh, he specialises in Japanese printing techniques such as RISO,
GOCCO, and provides mentorships for young artists. They offer affordable, sustainable, and ethical print services for the local community and reinvest all profits to support young people through residencies, publishing support, training, and education initiatives.

Goodwin works as a journalist and a co-editor for The Ferret, a media co-op where she reports extensively on social affairs and health inequalities. While on the panel, she highlighted the importance of community-owned news for tackling media bias and misinformation. Outside The Ferret Goodwin has written for many Scottish and UK broadsheets, magazines, and online platforms, including the Sunday Times and the Guardian, reported for BBC Scotland’s Disclosure, and has worked on other radio and film projects. She is currently writing and co-hosting the podcast ‘Sheku Bayoh: The Inquiry’.

Fortune’s working life began in the printers of Dumfries, having grown up in a golden thread family line of Doonhamer printmakers. Pete Fortune brings a vivid, real-life account of the industry, capturing his apprenticeship and the vibrant characters and community of the town at the peak of the printing era. He rounded the discussion out by proposing the lifelong fellowships that printmaking can craft. Fortune moved on in his career to become a social worker and is now a writer of memoirs and short fiction.

Wallace, the artist behind Imprints in Time, brought to the panel a career that expands across multiple disciplines, from installation work to filmmaking. His work delves into human relationships with constructed and natural environments, emphasising the idea of ‘insider art’, allowing locations that personally connect to the artist to be central to a film’s narrative. Inspired by the fusion of technology and the environment, Wallace incorporates live and historical data sources to craft the responsive, dynamic audiovisuals found in Imprints in Time and all his installation spaces.

‘Off the Margin Micro-Festival’ ran between March 22nd and 23rd, 2024, as part of the What We Do Now Digital Media Festival.

*A Doonhamer is a colloquial term to describe someone who is born and bred in Dumfries

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Musings News Project Updates

Creative Spaces X Conversing Building: Inspiration Donation

We got stuck straight into our first Creative Spaces project at the start of August, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we had a ball with it. We wanted our installation to examine the ideas of imposter syndrome in creativity and dissect what it is that makes a person creative. And so, the Inspiration Donation was born. It went through a couple of iterations before reaching its final form, but we were all dead chuffed with the final installation. We started off by going on a wee adventure to the local garden centres to check out clear containers (we did get briefly distracted by the fish on display at Heathhall Garden Centre) and had a roam about the Range to get the rest of our supplies together. 

We worked together on four panels of collage to demonstrate how we hoped the final product would look – we experimented with creating stencils for these too, along with the ‘feed me’ stencils that went up on the walls. It was great to start working together on some artwork, it was a fun way of bonding and building each other up as a team. The installation went up with the help of Stovie & artist Katie Anderson, who offered her expertise and guided us through the process. We had some brilliant donations from the Stove team after we had added our own inspirational pieces in (some Blu Tack, a feather and a funky rock), such as a vintage toy car, a post-it note that read ‘Sparkle Baby’, and a map of the town.

Our Conversing Building project was a super fun introduction to our roles at Creative Spaces. It was my first opportunity to work collaboratively on a creative project with other young creatives, something that felt quite daunting at first is now something I’m looking forward to doing more of in the future.

James

The Conversing Building project pushed us straight out the gate to create something that represented us, and in turn our community in Dumfries. It helped us work as a team and realise where some of our strengths lie”

Sonah

Conversing Building was a really interesting jumping off point for our time with Creative Spaces. Working on this project taught us how we fit together as a team, and got the ball rolling with our style and approach.

Anna

Creative Spaces is a Dumfries-based collective of young creatives, working with and advocating for our region’s young artists.

Situated in the heart of Dumfries, Creative Spaces collaborates with young creatives from across the region, providing young people with opportunities to engage in the arts. Whether it’s through events, workshops, mentorships, or our annual Associates Programme, we aim to enhance Dumfries and Galloway’s creative scene by offering free access to opportunities and paid commissions.

Keep up to date with the Creative Spaces team on Instagram: @creative.spaces_