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About

A lively outdoor parade featuring people in costume and face paint, gathered around a textured goat statue. Two large blue banners are visible, one reading “Nithraid” in stylised white text, the other partially showing “shop Alloway” and “Commu,” suggesting local community involvement. The scene is set against a stone wall and a cloudy sky, evoking a festive and theatrical atmosphere.

What We Do

Who We Are

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

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

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

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

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

What Is Our Vision?

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

How Will We Do This?

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

  • We will:
    • Build and sustain networks locally, regionally and nationally.
    • Support meaningful collaborations and active partnerships for community development and place-based working.
    • Foster a culture of kindness and respect, and operate a zero-tolerance approach to bullying and harassment.
    • Develop potential in our community by creating pathways to new opportunities and learning.
    • Revitalise towns by supporting community solutions and developing public policy.
    • Use and promote creativity as a tool for communities to be part of shaping the future of their places and their well-being.

Our Values

The Stove is a values-led network rooted in clear beliefs about what we do—and how we do it. Our values shape every interaction, guide our decisions, and set the benchmark for our daily practice:

  • Risk-taking
  • Collaboration
  • Empowerment
  • Positive disruptive change
  • Innovation
  • Inclusion

How We Do It

Creative Practice at The Stove

Two people seated at a table in a dimly lit indoor setting. In the foreground, an older man with a bald head and white beard wears a dark jacket. In the background, a person with long brown hair, a dark scarf, and a brown jacket appears engaged in conversation. The blurred backdrop includes red fabric and shelving, creating a cosy, informal atmosphere.

At the heart of The Stove is a creative practice led by the whole team, a constantly evolving experiment in embedding creativity…

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Key Facts about The Stove

A wide-angle night-time shot of a town square in the UK at dusk. In the foreground, a large cherry blossom tree in full white bloom is illuminated by streetlights. Several people are gathered in small groups across the wet, cobblestone pavement. To the left, a traditional black London-style taxi is parked in front of a white building with lit windows. The sky is a deep twilight blue, and a few wooden benches are scattered throughout the square.

Some key facts and history of the Stove Network, the 100 High Street building, and the impact of the Creative Industries nationally…

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Commissioning & Contracting

A lively street parade on a UK high street. In the centre, a group of people carry a large, decorative white animal effigy, possibly a cow, adorned with bright yellow sunflowers. To the right, a person walks in the procession wearing a realistic monkey mask and a white draped robe, holding a purple and green fan. Other participants and onlookers line the pavement, including a person in the foreground wearing a white top and looking at a mobile phone. High street shops with red and blue storefronts are visible in the background.

In principle, The Stove Network aims to support the local economy in Dumfries and Galloway, and specifically the creative and cultural sector…

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Bringing Proposals to The Stove

The exterior of a white building, "The Stove Network," featuring a large sign that reads "THE ROGUE SHINES BRIGHT" in orange letters with blue shadows. The sign is made of separate wooden panels fixed above a series of large glass windows and white pillars. A small sign in one window reads "Welcome to The Stove Café." In the foreground, the edge of a metal skip and the back of a silver van are partially visible on the pavement.

The door of The Stove Network is always open to ideas and proposals from our members and our wider community…

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The Stove & the Town Centre

A high-angle wide shot of a bustling town square in the UK on a sunny day. In the centre, a tiered stone fountain is surrounded by a temporary circular blue frame with red support beams. Crowds of people walk through the square and gather near stalls and an orange inflatable structure. The square is surrounded by multi-storey buildings, including a Waterstones and a Clydesdale Bank. A silver pick-up truck is parked on the cobblestone pavement in the lower-left foreground.

The evolving story of The Stove’s relationship with the town centre and our connection with Midsteeple Quarter…

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Fair Work & Living Wage

A graphic overlay on a faded photograph of a group of people sitting in a circle for a meeting. The central graphic consists of overlapping blue, green, and yellow circles. White text on the circles reads "We are a Living Wage Employer" with a green tick mark at the bottom right. The background shows people of various ages in a bright, modern room with wooden shelving.

Fair Work is a key founding principle of The Stove since its foundation. We’re also an Accredited Real Living Wage employer…

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