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We’re Celebrating Our First, Double-Digit Anniversary!

We can’t quite believe it, bit it’s true!  The Stove Network is 10 years old. 

A decade ago, a bunch of like-minded folks got together with the spark of an idea that creativity could play a part the future of Dumfries town centre. This band of local creatives had shared, practical experience from working on projects that had helped bring vibrancy, confidence, and partnership working to other places around the country, they wanted to see what they could do for their hometown and ta’da, The Stove was born.

The key idea of The Stove was that its agenda should be driven by local people – first and foremost The Stove set out to be a place that was accessible to everyone, somewhere that listened and somewhere run by people who saw their role to facilitate and add value to the ideas people brought to The Stove.

This core belief of community, collaboration, and support, continues to this day. It is the people who have made The Stove what it is and allowed us to continue our mission – to help make Dumfries, and our region, a place where communities thrive and a place where everyone is supported to be involved creatively and take part in the celebration and making of our culture.

We’d like to thank everyone we’ve worked with, those who have supported, participated, challenged, and pushed us to create meaningful and memorable experiences, opportunities and pathways for learning, collaboration, expression, and development across the region and beyond.

“… to celebrate ten years of the Stove we’ll be sharing the stories of those who have come through our doors, sharing their favourite memories…”

We asked some of our members, partners, friends, and colleagues, to tell us what The Stove means to them, and what they’d like to see next:

Stove Member, Gary Hunter

Gary found the Stove a few years ago and has gently become part of the heartbeat of the place. You can usually find Gary in the café giving an optimistic and encouraging word to everyone, but also look out for him at Brave New Words – his guitar playing and singing will touch your spirit.

1. How did you first get involved with the Stove?

I became involved with The Stove through the cafe, the ‘downstairs’. By seeing different events advertised, organised by ‘upstairs’, I’ve attended figure drawing classes, contributed poetry for an exhibition and taken part in Brave New Words.

2. What is unique about the Stove?

What is special about The Stove, is the generosity. Despite the ups and downs of life, there is a spirit of kindness felt in the cafe exuded from the staff. What I see about ‘upstairs’ is the opportunity it is attempting to provide those wishing to express creativity. An extension of the generosity of the cafe. This is what makes The Stove unique, it is not driven by business enterprise but by creativity.

3. What’s your fondest memory of the Stove?

My fondest memory of The Stove is from the cafe. A young woman came in for a coffee but didn’t have enough money to pay for it. She looked like she’d been sleeping rough and was about to leave, when the member of staff serving her reassured her and said the coffee was free. I’ll never forget her expression and gratitude as she left. Apparently, this is something done by other places, but I’ve only seen it done in The Stove.

4. What have you done with the Stove that you’re most proud of?

I’m not beating my own drum here, but what I’m most proud of is the first time I performed at Brave New Words, a couple of years ago. It was nauseating, exciting and extremely terrifying but I managed to do it without any hiccups.

5. To someone who’s never heard of the Stove, how do you describe it?

I could say it is a bastion of opportunity, positivity and creativity, an expression of free thinking and identity, but I would say, The Stove is something you have to see for yourself.

6. What would you like to see in the next 10 years?

I would like to see more events organised for the over-thirties. It is right that an emphasis is placed on helping the younger generation and The Stove has done that, but in time they too will become the older generation, and will form, like the rest of us, the majority of the local community. I think The Stove should ‘level the playing field’ so to speak and extend the good work they’re doing for young people to include the rest of us.

7. What’s the biggest change that’s happened over the last 10 years from your point of view?

Growth. The Stove has proliferated from the time of its conception to become more than a hub for artistic folk. The Mid Steeple Quarter is a recent reflection of this and highlights The Stove’s investment in the local community.

8. If there’s one word that sums up the Stove to you, what is it?

Positivity.

9. If the Stove were a drink/food/object or colour, what would it be?

A tall, chilled glass of lemonade on a hot summer’s day.

10. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of the Stove?

Fun.

Director of LIFT D&G, Angie Gilmour

Angela is the ‘Queen of Lochside’ some years back she decided she had had enough of her area being cried a place of deprivation and formed Lochside is Families Together (LIFT) and the rest is history! She was employed by The Stove for three years as our Community Engagement Worker for the Creative Futures project in NW Dumfries and continues to work in partnership with The Stove – currently with our What We Do Now project.

1. How did you first get involved with the Stove?

I first got involved with the stove when I went for a job interview in 2017.

2. What is unique about the Stove?

The unique thing about the stove is how once you start getting to be involved it is like an extended family. 

3. What’s your fondest memory of the Stove?

My fondest memory, apart from doing events and seeing them all come together and thinking, “We did that!” are the friendships I have made through the stove, there is some awesome folk there. 

4. What have you done with the Stove that you’re most proud of?

I have been proud of every event and project we have done with The Stove as we’ve been able to give people opportunities that might not have been open to them before. 

5. To someone who’s never heard of the Stove, how do you describe it?

The stove is a forward thinking, amazing place, that opens your mind to different cultures. 

6. What would you like to see in the next 10 years?

Mini stoves pop up everywhere. 

7. What’s the biggest change that’s happened over the last 10 years from your point of view?

I had no idea they did so much. 

8. If there’s one word that sums up the Stove to you, what is it?

Openness 

9. If the Stove were a drink/food/object or colour, what would it be?

Orange 

10. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of the Stove?

Opportunities

Fan and Occasional Teammate, Steph Phillips

Steph is one of the stars of Brave New Words, a talented and fearless singer-songwriter, they always have the right song for the occasion! Of late, Steph has been doing shifts in the cafe and is very much part of the Stove family.

1. How did you first get involved with the Stove?

I first became involved with the Stove in 2017 after I moved to Dumfries for uni. I wasn’t sure if there was much going on in the town, but one evening I stumbled upon Brave New Words and it changed everything! After that I made an effort to attend Stove events and meet new folk, which helped build my confidence and get to know the town.

2. What is unique about the Stove?

There is nowhere quite like the Stove! It is unique in its welcoming community atmosphere and the range of creative opportunities it offers. The cafe is a lovely safe space for all, and in the evenings, it often turns into a venue for all kinds of wonderful events and workshops.

3. What’s your fondest memory of the Stove?

My fondest memory of the Stove is from April 2019 when I attended my first Plaza event (at the Rowing Club). Although I knew a few Stove folk’s faces I hadn’t yet been brave enough to introduce myself properly. I went to the gig on my own and was awkwardly hovering near the back when Pam (who I recognised from the cafe team) approached and invited me to join her and a few others. It was a lovely venue with great live performances and getting to meet the lovely folk behind the event was an added bonus! After that I made more of an effort to be brave and introduce myself to the team, gradually getting to know them at different events (and at the pub!). All in all, it was the start of many new friendships which changed my perception of Dumfries and shaped who I am today.

4. What have you done with the Stove that you’re most proud of?

The Stove has helped me to become a more confident individual and face my stage-fright by performing at a couple of BNW open mics. I still get scared and can’t always perform, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made since finding the Stove.

5. To someone who’s never heard of the Stove, how do you describe it?

To someone who has never heard of the Stove, I would describe it as a safe space for every individual from every background, which welcomes and encourages creativity and learning new skills.

6. What would you like to see in the next 10 years?

In the next 10 years I would like to see more of the same! The Stove has created a wonderful community which is working hard to improve the opportunities within Dumfries and develop the town centre into somewhere enjoyable for locals and visitors alike.

7. What’s the biggest change that’s happened over the last 10 years from your point of view?

I’m not sure what I would say the biggest change in the last 10 years has been. Perhaps the change in other people’s perceptions of the town, and what The Stove and other projects have to offer in the way of community development, has been the most noticeable.

8. If there’s one word that sums up the Stove to you, what is it?

One word to describe the Stove – ‘collaboration’.

9. If the Stove were a drink/food/object or colour, what would it be?

I see the Stove as a brightly coloured microphone, giving the town and its individuals a voice and a platform to express themselves.

10. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of the Stove?

I think of a warm smile and people I can rely on, as well as opportunities I wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

Community Artist, Kirsty Turpie

Kirsty is just about the best advert you’ll ever meet for the power of art and creativity – a true community artist who brings positive energy to every situation. She has been part of just about everything you can do at The Stove… Blueprint 100, Creative Futures, Brave New Words, Nithraid… she has been at the heart of all of them at some time! She is currently working for DG Council in Youth Services.

1. How did you first get involved with the Stove?

In 2015 when I returned to living in the area, the Stove were involved in running the Environmental Arts Festival. I volunteered at the festival, met many of the stovies and heard about the exciting creative events that they were running. I then began attending events at the Stove regularly especially enjoying Tuesday night Blueprint 100 workshops (now Creative Spaces) and Reel to Real film nights. I was given the opportunity to exhibit a selection of drawings for the opening of the Stove Cafe and run a creative workshop at Blueprint 100 which gave me a great deal of encouragement with my creative practise.

2. What is unique about the Stove?

There is such a welcoming and friendly atmosphere at all the events and on a day-to-day basis in the cafe. They’re approach is holistic and organic to the needs of the community. They support and connect artists of all different ages and specialisms which has created an exciting and thriving creative community in the region and beyond.

3. What’s your fondest memory of the Stove?

It’s very hard to choose one. I have so many wonderful memories of Brave New Words Open Mic Night as it has been where I’ve formed many friendships. It makes me so happy when I see a friend getting up and sharing music and poetry at Brave New Words and being supported and welcomed by the community. I’ve also loved attending and being part of Nithraid over the years as it provides a full day celebration of our town and its creative talent.

4. What have you done with the Stove that you’re most proud of?

Working with the Creative Futures team for 2 and a half years and running many exciting community events and public art projects in Lochside and Lincluden.

5. To someone who’s never heard of the Stove, how do you describe it?

A community arts centre that has something for everyone.

6. What would you like to see in the next 10 years?

The Midsteeple Quarter buildings being used well and helping the creative scene in D&G to flourish even more.

7. What’s the biggest change that’s happened over the last 10 years from your point of view?

The growth of the stove team and number of spaces.

8. If there’s one word that sums up the Stove to you, what is it?

Incredible

9. If the Stove were a drink/food/object or colour, what would it be?

Gold

10. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of the Stove?

Belonging

John Wallace

John has worn the Stovie bunnet from the earliest days. It’s rare to see a photo of John as he is usually behind the camera and has made some of the finest Stove movies, including A House on The High Street that played such a formative role in starting Midsteeple Quarter. John styles himself an ‘Insider Artist’ and has built a national reputation as a video installation artists from his beloved Eaglesfield.

1. How did you first get involved with the Stove?

First Foot! Three months of art-planning mayhem culminating in two nights of art mayhem

on the High Street back in January 2012.

2. What is unique about the Stove?

Its general sense of purpose and industry around the idea of better places to live and be. It’s

not just art for art’s sake.

3. What’s your fondest memory of the Stove?

Too many. And I’m still forming them – thanks for that The Stove!

4. What have you done with the Stove that you’re most proud of?

Not into being proud of things, but it’s always a pleasure to see the public – new folk –

getting involved and getting a kick out of art-led projects around the town centre where it

all began. Plus, I love seeing the facade change the way it speaks to the street and the

people there – always a joy to play any part in that. It’s a great Stove tradition that continues

with all the superb signwriting.

5. To someone who’s never heard of the Stove, how do you describe it?

A nexus. A powerhouse.

6. What would you like to see in the next 10 years?

That it continues sic – punkin’ the jubilee

7. What’s the biggest change that’s happened over the last 10 years from your point of view?

Getting the building sorted out. Fifty years of retail knock-throughs and modernisations

hadn’t left a very practical space either for the number of people or the range of uses that

100 High Street now regularly supports.

8. If there’s one word that sums up the Stove to you, what is it?

Hame.

9. If the Stove were a drink/food/object or colour, what would it be?

Well, mine’s a cortado with one sugar if you’re anywhere near the café, ta.

10. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of the Stove?

Did I lock that door?

Alec Wallace

Alec is the son of John and Betty Wallace and has been an ever-present at Stovie events, always keeping us right and asking the best questions. How will D+G feel different to those who have grown up with The Stove we wonder?

1. How did you first get involved with the Stove?

The first time I was involved with the stove was the opening of the stove cafe.

2. What is unique about the Stove?

Anyone can become involved, and it is welcoming and engaging.

3. What’s your fondest memory of the Stove?

My fondest memory of the Stove was Parking Space, at the NCP.

4. What have you done with the Stove that you’re most proud of?

I have helped with lots of different projects, and enjoyed being part of a team, and so I am proud of all the projects I have helped work on.

5. To someone who’s never heard of the Stove, how do you describe it?

I would describe the stove as: A place and a community that do creative things together to make Dumfries a better place.

6. What would you like to see in the next 10 years?

To see it continue with a larger community.

7. What’s the biggest change that’s happened over the last 10 years from your point of view?

The fact that the people of Dumfries own big chunks of the high street.

8. If there’s one word that sums up the Stove to you, what is it?

People.

9. If the Stove were a drink/food/object or colour, what would it be?

A fried egg – sunny and nutritious

10. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of the Stove?

Cake

Linda Mallett

One of the founding members of The Stove, Linda has been at the forefront of just about every new development in the arts in the region for as long as anyone can remember… a true radical spirit and who is the local benchmark for integrity and commitment to her art.

1. How did you first get involved with the Stove?

When D&G Council said they were going to cut all funding for the arts, back around 2010(?) quite a few of us thought that was not a great idea and got together to discuss strategies. My memory of the particulars has faded, but somehow out of all that, a small group of us got together to discuss the idea of taking over a three-story shop building in the centre of Dumfries, as a base for arts and community projects.

2. What is unique about the Stove?

That it started out as a collective project of active, professional artists in the public arts field, working together in a non-hierarchical way to develop strategies, raise funding and initiate community projects. It has obviously become more structured (and better paid) over the years, but it still has the truly collective ethos.

3. What’s your fondest memory of the Stove? 

I think it has to be the early days and months of all working together to create something new that none of us could quite foresee, with very few resources and a lot of trust. Can I really say that unpaid all-day meetings fuelled by coffee & sandwiches, followed by winding down in the pub are fond memories? Well yes, they are!

4. What have you done with the Stove that you’re most proud of?

So many… I’ll pick the first ever Nithraid event. This initially came from the idea of wanting to celebrate the River Nith and reclaim it as a true centre of Dumfries rather than just a carpark and bus-station that floods regularly. We put out an open call for anyone interested in discussing ideas for the project to come for a meeting. From that developed the idea of a boat race from the coast to the centre of Dumfries, to ‘reclaim’ it as the flourishing port and market it once was, and to commission various associated arts projects and events for the day. On the day – 21st September 2012 – I was rushing around from project to project, checking out all was going to plan, that the tide was rising as it should, that people were where they were supposed to be… At some point, crossing the Devorgilla Bridge, I paused, and looked out down the river. A couple of thousand people were lining the banks, waiting for the boats to arrive. Wow, I thought – they are all here because of us!

More generally, I am proud of how The Stove has provided opportunities and inspiration for younger artists to move to/back to Dumfries & Galloway and be part of a dynamic and innovative practice. To show that ‘new’ doesn’t just happen in cities.

And I am also proud of how we managed to work co-operatively with the local authorities to develop ideas that were new to all of us, recognising on both sides that we needed to look at new ways of bridging our previous divide.

5. To someone who’s never heard of the Stove, how do you describe it? 

Rather lamely, I tend to cop out and give them a link to the website! And recommend the great café.

6. What would you like to see in the next 10 years? 

A continuation of more projects moving outwards to cover a wider area than central Dumfries

7. What’s the biggest change that’s happened over the last 10 years from your point of view?

Probably the sideways move from the stage of largely unfunded collective responsibility from all for everything, to more specialised areas and accountabilities – “proper jobs”.

8. If there’s one word that sums up the Stove to you, what is it?

Unique?

9. If the Stove were a drink/food/object or colour, what would it be?

A delicious pot-luck meal of Greek mezze or Spanish tapas. But Scottish.

10. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of the Stove?

The difficulty of pinning down what the Stove is?

Chairman of the Board, Tony Fitzpatrick

Tony has been the Chair of our board now for 4 years, his has been a steady hand on the tiller whilst urging us on to push harder and further into uncharted territory. Tony has a past as the Director of Economic Development for DG Council and has a present as a rock and roller with local band Heart of Rust. Everyone at The Stove owes him the deepest debt of gratitude for his commitment and limitless enthusiasm… thank you Tony!

1. How did you first get involved with the Stove?

Basically, it was the café that drew me in initially. I was aware of the emerging artists collective through my work with the Council and involvement in the funding bid that purchased both the Stove and Oven buildings with Scottish Government grant.

2. What is unique about the Stove?

For me the unique thing was that it was the first project in Dumfries to link creative endeavour to community and economic development actions on the ground. Other projects had evolved in more rural settlements but The Stove had a much needed ‘urban cool’ feel to it….quite unique!

3. What’s your fondest memory of the Stove? 

My first visit to the café and sitting for a spell and realising “….something different is happening here…is this Dumfries’s ‘Glad Café”? (a project in Glasgow that was now renowned for its creative programme as well as café).

4. What have you done with the Stove that you’re most proud of?

I took up a Board position several years ago and I have felt so proud to simply be part of the whole process, see the team evolve and develop and put Dumfries on the map locally, regionally and nationally. The Stove has achieved things that would take the usual agencies decades to achieve and built a support-base that the public sector always struggles to do. We have however had tremendous support from the key agencies, again due to the skills of the team.

5. To someone who’s never heard of the Stove, how do you describe it? 

“An artist’s collective that is making the world a better place through positive activism, disruption and conversation”.

6. What would you like to see in the next 10 years? 

A transformed town and region where people are empowered and creatively engaged through the Stove (and projects like it) and where our cultural, natural, and creative assets are recognised globally as our unique selling point.

7. What’s the biggest change that’s happened over the last 10 years from your point of view?

Projects like the Stove being recognised and respected for the innovation and drive they bring for doing things differently and making a real difference to the community. The Stove, to my mind, has brought that ‘cool’ factor that until now has really been the preserve of the city. Our young creatives are, as a consequence, returning or staying in small but significant numbers. Covid is causing many to view the ‘city lights’ as not quite the draw they were as new living , working, environmental, safety and quality of life factors come more to the fore. We have a job here….for life…and much to do!

8. If there’s one word that sums up the Stove to you, what is it?

‘Cool’

9. If the Stove were a drink/food/object or colour, what would it be?

It would be a small fleet of pastel and prime coloured Lambretta scooters with tartan seat covers parked outside a cool cafe waiting for Stovies to jump on and deliver work and joy to the town and beyond!

10. What’s the first thing you think of when you think of the Stove?

Smiling!….and Matt and his hat poised at a jaunty angle…!!

Joe McGurk

Writer, Joe McGurk tells us what attracted him to become a member of The Stove and what he hopes for the future:

Categories
News

What’s On?

November: New Beginnings & Fond Memories at 100 High Street 

November’s here! For all its drizzly driecht, soggy leaves and howling breeze, it’s all go for a month of dance and exhibition, climate chats and birthday celebrations! 

But first…you might have heard about COP26. 

Yes, the glitterati of global politics will be arriving in Glasgow, in all their blue blazered, shooder-pads and pouting. Not to mention the news crews and protestors, police vans and placards, it all feels a little bit nerve-wracking. (Yes, just what we need from this year, another thing to worry about!).

So while the whole wide world tumbles on to George Square and Kelvingrove, we want to ask; what does all this mean for us down here?

A Doonhamer’s Guide to the End of the World

Creative Spaces are hosting a series of conversations, workshops and creative activities for people under 30 to share, collaborate and make their ideas heard in the big climate conversation. Working with Historic Environment Scotland the programme explores climate through story and myth, unearthing our local history to see what lessons can be learned from our past to guide the future we’ve yet to take.

Alongside this, Reel To Real, the Stove Cafe’s monthly film night, will be screening two films exploring climate, loss, distance and relocation, from Africa to Ireland. Our Reel To Real film nights include some scrumptious pre-movie scran courtesy of stew-maestro Marcus, from 5PM through till 6:30!

But that’s not all…

Atlas Pandemica: Maps to A Kinder World

First beginning in June of 2019, Atlas Pandemica: Maps to a Kinder World is a compendium of 10 projects led by Dumfries & Galloway based creative people exploring different themes highlighted by life during the COVID pandemic, working directly with people in the region, it focussed on the impacts and learning from the community’s experience of the evolving pandemic. 

The project is now drawing to a conclusion, aside from the many outputs each of the commissioned artists have shared, a collection of 10 maps, based on each of the project’s findings will be unveiled as part of ‘After the Pandemic’, Glasgow’s creative and cultural fringe at COP26. For more information on the project please visit www.atlaspandemica.org

Are ye dancin? We’re askin!

Join us on Saturday 6th November for an intimate evening of dance performance and conversation as DG Dance celebrate the end of their first season touring pop up dance across Dumfries and Galloway.

Martin McKeown, taken as part of Sanquhar Arts Festival.

The evening will include a performance of Matthew Hawkin’s Triple Echo, sharing excerpts from new screendance research with Emma Dove inspired by Emma Jayne Park’s touring performance And Now We Unravel, Again, and a performance of Louise Ahl’s newly premiered work heartbeats, fresh air, gestures, time. 

This will be followed by an open conversation with lead artist Emma Jayne Park, and company dancers Claire Pencak, Jorja Follina and Malcolm Sutherland.

The following week, we’ll be showcasing the final UK screening of Penny Chivas’s ‘Burnt Out‘ this year, followed by an opportunity to discuss the work with the artist.

Brian Hartley

With original music by Paul Michael Henry, interwoven with the delicately detailed lighting design of David Bowes, this is an autobiographical dance-theatre work from the daughter of an environmental geochemist, bringing together fact and personal account. ‘Burnt Out’ is at once an intimate personal story and a universal meditation on our changing climate.

Water you up to? 

The Dumfries Fountain Project: Research & Studio Work 

A pop-up exhibition at The Smithy, 113-115 High Street, hosted by artist Alex Allan. Allan has been working with the Dumfries Fountain Project coordinated by the Stove Network, exploring, and designing a proposal for a permanent piece of public art to be situated by the Dumfries Fountain to complement the historic landmark.

You are invited to consider the research gathered during their time in Dumfries, experiment and play with ideas and materials from the studio and contribute your own thoughts to the work. What would you like from a new piece of public art in the centre of the town? This is a unique chance to hear from the artist themselves and learn more about this timely and fascinating project. Come on in!

Dumfries Fountain Project: Film and Soundtrack Premiere

The Smithy, 113-115 High Street
Saturday, 13 th November 5-7pm

Join us for a celebratory evening marking the conclusion of our two Holywood Trust commissioned artist projects, with a sharing of the short documentary film created by filmmaker Patrick Rooney, and film soundtrack by musician and composer Jenna Macrory.

After the screening we’ll be hearing from our two commissioned artists about their experiences with the project. Light refreshments provided. There is limited capacity available for the event so please sign up via Eventbrite to let us know if you would like to attend.

It’s our birthday and we’ll print if we want to…

Can you believe we’re 10 years old? Seems like just yesterday, the Stove were chalk painting flagstones and launching a coo into the Nith (not an actual coo, don’t fret). 

10 Year Celebrations 

Join the Stove as we celebrate our 10th Birthday! We’ll be turning the Stove Cafe into a t-shirt printing factory where you can print your own 10th Anniversary t-shirt, and the cafe will be open with a special menu (yes, there will be cake!).

Hang on, theres maire!

B-B-B-Brave New Words

Our monthly open mic night for fresh words spoken, sung, shot, signed or silenced returns. This month’s theme is: ENCOUNTERS

U18 Acoustic Cafe returns

Our pals Dave Bass and the magnificent Dumfries Music Collective, fresh off the heels from their stellar 2021 conference are finally back to takeover the Stove Cafe with the U18 Acoustic Cafe.  Featuring a line-up of fresh voices from the region, the afternoon is open to all to enjoy. More info coming soon! 

Doughlicious

D’ough! Doughlicious are back in the building! Share ideas and recipes whilst breaking bread with like-minded folks. Featuring practical workshops exploring techniques and style, for those that kneed that extra bit of help and radical recipes for aficionados, from chapati to brioche! 

Women Signwriters Assemble! 

Dumfries Women’s Signwriting Squad are back again with the wee monthly meet-up. This session, open to beginners of all levels, will teach you the basics of signwriting. A popular event so sign up to guarantee your spot!

In Other News

Dark Time!

It’s not as gloom as it sounds, we promise. Dark Time is our yearly switch off, where we re-group as a team, drink too much coffee and chat all things Stove. From planning 2022, pouring over our members feedback (thanks by the way) and reflecting on a year unlike any other.

As we draw some breath from the run of festivals and projects, from wild geese to multiverses, we’re making time to ask some important questions. From who uses the Stove, to what we can offer our community and what themes might take us forward into the new year. We divide our conversations into three areas, which include:

Are you interested in Dark Time? Let us know by emailing [email protected]

…Phew! And breathe…

Categories
News Project Updates

Creative Spaces Presents:

A Doonhamer’s Guide To The End of The World

This November, in partnership with Historic Environment Scotland, Creative Spaces presents: A Doonhamer’s Guide To The End of The World.

This series of events runs alongside COP26, the global climate conference that brings together climate experts from around the world. Hosted this year in Glasgow, COP26 will see decisions made that will change the path of the planet and humanity in the face of climate change.

On Thursday 4th November 7pm – 9pm, the team will be opening the series with a public discussion around climate change and the planet. If you’re under 30 and passionate about the environment, or are looking to learn more about climate change and COP, come along and help fuel the conversation.

The second event in the series, on Saturday 13th November 12pm – 3pm, is an afternoon of environmental talks at the historic Caerlaverock Castle. A bus will be leaving from The Stove at 12noon, so if you’re interested in attending this event, reserve a ticket here to confirm your place. You’ll be treated to an environmentally friendly (and delicious) lunch and refreshments when you book a ticket. Warm jackets and waterproof shoes are recommended!

Ever wondered what a zine is or how they are made? For the third event the Creative Spaces Team are running a zine making workshop in The Stove cafe on Thursday 18th November from 7pm – 9pm. Come along and learn how to make your own zines, or work on a contribution for the eco-zine the team are working on together. Zines are self-published and grown from a D.I.Y. making history – come along and let your creative energy flow for the evening!

For the last event in the series, Creative Spaces in collaboration with Dumfries Women’s Sign Writing Squad, are running a protest sign making workshop. Prepare to stand up for the planet in style. Join the team in The Stove on Thursday 25th November, 7pm – 9pm, they’ll bring the paints – you bring the passion.

Categories
News Project Updates

The Riverrun Series

Wild Goose Festival 2021

The Stove Café is proud to present, as part of this year’s Wild Goose Festival and in partnership with Wigtown Festival Company, the RIVERRUN SERIES.

Over three days, within the festival programme, Riverrun celebrates poetry and literature and features special guests including: Tom Pow, Hugh Bryden, Robin Crawford, Malachy Tallack, Alec Finlay and Esther Woolfson.

The Stove Café will host two of the Riverrun events on the 18th and 19th at its venue on Dumfries High Street, the third will be hosted online as part of the Wigtown Wednesday series on the 20th.

First in the series is Riverrun 1 – Life Is Still Life which sees the launch of two new pamphlets published by Roncadora Press and featuring poetry by Tom Pow and artwork by Hugh Bryden both of these are responses to the natural world during lockdown. The first, Life, through a range of emails sent to Tom, which he shapes into moments of haiku; the second, Still Life, through Hugh’s painted observations of an immediate world of plants and objects, which Tom responds to in poetry.

Hugh Bryden and Tom Pow have collaborated on many publications over a long period of time. Initially with Cacafuego Press, which they ran together, and then with Hugh’s own Roncadora Press. With both presses, Hugh’s visual presentation and attention to detail have been paramount and recognised by a number of awards.

This evening’s illustrated launch will be an opportunity to see and to hear this new work and to buy the pamphlets.

Riverrun 2 – The Lure Of The River, on Tuesday 19th October features Robin A Crawford, author of ‘Into The Peatlands: A Journey Through The Moorland Year’ (2018) and ‘Cauld Blasts and Clishmaclavers: A Treasury of 1000 Scottish Words’(2020).

Attendees at this event will enjoy a special preview of two new books about life on the river; The first, ‘Along the River: A year’s journey on the Tay’ (Birlinn, 2022) by Robin Crawford which interweaves history both human and natural from the Highland crannog on Loch Tay to the V&A at its North Sea Firth, an extract.

You never enter the same river twice and yet it remains. Heraclitus’s river flows, everything flows but the water that my great grandfather swam in as a youth is the same river that ferried my Granny over from Fife before the First World War, that I road bridged as a boy, heard the wintering geese return to as a student, saw from the window of the maternity ward at Ninewells as my wife’s waters broke as our son was born. It is all rivers, it is unique.” 

The second is Malachy Tallack’s; ‘Illuminated by Water’ (Doubleday, 2022), a combination of memoir, nature writing and reflections on culture and history, examining why angling means so much to so many.

Malachy Tallack is the award-winning author of three books, most recently a novel, The Valley at the Centre of the World (Canongate, 2018). It was shortlisted for the Highland Book Prize and longlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize. His first book, Sixty Degrees North (2015), was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, and his second, The Un-Discovered Islands (2016), was named Illustrated Book of the Year at the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards. Malachy is from Shetland, and currently lives in central Scotland.

On Wednesday 20th October, Riverrun 3, The Urban Naturalist, forms part of the Wigtown Wednesday programme and will be hosted online, featuring authors Esther Woolfson and Alec Finlay.

This special event explores the idea of what it might mean to say, ‘we are all naturalists now’; and, in the light of covid and COP26 questions what our relationship to the natural world might be.

Esther Woolfson, author of ‘Field Notes from a Hidden City and Between Light’ and ‘Storm – How We Live with Other Species’ (both Granta) argues that encouraging children and adults to talk about urban nature is one of the most important and neglected areas of possibility for change that there is.

Woolfson began her writing career with highly acclaimed short stories. She has been Artist in Residence at Aberdeen University’s Aberdeen Centre for Environmental Sustainability, Writer in Residence at the Hexham Book Festival and an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen.

Esther Wolfson

During the pandemic, Esther has become increasingly interested in the boundaries between human and non-human, the links between how we treat other humans and other species and in finding ways of altering the traditional, accepted ways of treating other species which appear to have led to the development and spread of SarsCov-2 and the drastic loss of species which is further endangering all life on earth.

She’s joined by poet and artist, Alec Finlay, who has developed a practice that draws attention to urban nature as a way of stimulating our imaginations and our well-being.

Alec Finlay’s work crosses over a range of media and forms and considers how we relate to landscape and ecology, including recent projects on place-awareness, hutopianism, rewilding, and disability access.

His recent publications include the Scottish Design Award best publication winner a far-off land (2018), made for Marie Curie, exploring landscapes of healing; gathering, a place-aware guide to the Cairngorms, published by Hauser & Wirth (2018); and th’ fleety wud (2017), a response to climate change and flooding, as part of an artwork being created in Hawick, in collaboration with Andrew MacKenzie and Gill Russell.

In 2018 Alec Finlay turned his focus onto the possibilities of rewilding urban spaces. In collaboration with The Walking Library (Dee Heddon & Misha Myers), he created a generous mapping project, Wild City, which is available as a book. This features photographic and written documentation of a series of participative walks through Glasgow exploring wild nature,reflecting on the politics of green spaces and the commons, and proposing imaginative pathways to adapt to and reverse climate breakdown.

This fascinating conversation of ideas and experience will interest any naturalist and any urban dweller. Tickets for this online even are free but need to be booked in advance.

For more details on each of the River Run series of events, visit the Wild Goose Festival page, or book your free tickets below:

Monday 18 October RIVERRUN 1:

LIFE IS STILL LIFE

7:00pm – 8:00pm The Stove Café, 100 High Street, Dumfries Free but ticketed

Tuesday 19 October RIVERRUN 2:

THE LURE OF THE RIVER

7:00pm – 8:00pm The Stove Café, 100 High Street, Dumfries Free but ticketed

Wednesday 20 October RIVERRUN 3

THE URBAN NATURALIST WITH ESTHER WOOLFSON AND ALEC FINLAY

7:00pm – 8:00pm

For more information on the Wild Goose Festival check out the festival page: https://thestove.org/wild-goose-festival/

Categories
Musings News

Wild Goose Festival 2021 Photo Competition

Each autumn, tens of thousands of wild geese arrive in Dumfries & Galloway after their long migration, some travelling over 2,700km to reach the region. This mass gathering of geese, including barnacle, greylag, brent and Greenland white-fronted geese, flock to Dumfries & Galloway each year, making our region one of the best places in the UK to see such a variety of geese.

As part of the 2021 Wild Goose Festival, we want to celebrate the beauty and wonder of our visiting geese, as well as the vast photographic talent found in our region. This competition is open to professional and amateur photographers from or based in Dumfries and Galloway. 

To enter the competition, please send us:

Your chosen photograph (any nature/environmental themed photo taken in Dumfries and Galloway);

Your name; 

Your email (so we can get back to you);

Your age;

Where the photo was taken;

And one or two sentences about your image.

Please enter the competition using this Google Form, where you will be asked for the above information: Link to enter here.

The deadline to enter is midnight on 11th October 2021. The top 10 finalists’ photographs will be displayed at the Wild Goose Festival Closing Gala on the 23rd October 2021, where a winner will be announced.

Winning prize to be announced.

The festival is part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2021 and is supported by Dumfries & Galloway Council and TRACS – Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.

Learn more about Wild Goose Festival here.

Categories
News Project Updates

Nithraid 2021

Wow… can you believe it’s been two weeks since Nithraid 2021?!

It was a spirit-filled, action-packed day, with lots to do and enjoy despite the wet weather!

We’re so pleased that everyone who took part in the river race was able to do so safely, braving the elements to give us a race to remember.

We also had some great activities taking place at Mill Green, with help from Dumfries Fountain Project, Creative Spaces, TS Beall, Heather Molloy of PAMIS and Simon Lidwell of Wordsmithcrafts.

It was brilliant to see some old friends and new faces taking part in the river race and visiting Mill Green, which really put into perspective how fortunate we were to finally be able to facilitate the race after a long, two-year wait. 

“Nithraid this year was a triumph in the face of the double adversities of Covid and the weather, we had a record turnout of boats and all the participants, as ever, were thrilled by the unique experience of journeying up our beautiful river on a big tide. The current context meant that we reached out wider than ever before through digital platforms meaning that people who cannot normally attend the event were brought into the heart of things – we also catered for people with multiple additional support needs and the D/deaf community with activities on site…”

Heather Molloy (PAMIS) as The Spirit of the Nith
Simon Lidwell (Wordsmithcrafts) as The River Rambler

…Nithraid is about bringing people together to celebrate the role of our River Nith in the town and region The Stove continues to find new ways to fulfil this mission and open up the fun to everyone in our community, demonstrating that community spirit for our visitors.”Matt Baker, Orchestrator

We’d like to say a huge, special thanks to the following individuals and groups who helped us to bring together Nithraid 2021:

All our partners and funders, as always, for their support: Historic Environment Scotland, Creative Scotland and Dumfries and Galloway Council

Mark Zygadlo, as always, for ongoing support with organising and facilitating Nithraid

Hamish Denerley for lead commentary during our livestream
Winston Denerley for BSL interpretation and livestream commentary

BattleStations for their technological support and facilitating our livestream

Heather Molloy from PAMIS Scotland and Simon Lidwell of Wordsmith Crafts for their immersive and tactile storytelling and performance of Source to Sea

Dumfries Fountain Project for their creative workshops

TS Beall, in collaboration with the Scottish Showpeople, for the informative and insightful signposting around the history of the suspension bridge

PAMIS for the supply of the ‘Changing Places’ toilet, helping us to provide accessible facilities at Mill Green

Only Foods and Sauces for providing on-site refreshments at Mill Green

Our volunteers for providing help on the day – you’re stars!

Barbour Hall at Glencaple for giving us a dry, warm place to brief and prepare all those involved in the race

Annan Harbour Action Group and their safety boats for ensuring the safety of those involved in the race

Andy Jardine for the beautiful on-site photography at Glencaple and Mill Green

…and last, but definitely not least, a HUGE thank you to all that made the race possible by taking part and those who joined us at Mill Green or tuned in to our livestream. 

It’s safe to say Nithraid’s return this year was a success, and we’re so excited for what’s to come in Nithraid’s future.

From all at The Stove Network, thank you, stay safe and have fun out there!

Until next time.

#Nithraid2021

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