Tag: Community Land Scotland

Owning our Future: Film Shorts Premiere

Community Land Scotland and Reel to Real Cinema At Home Present
Owning our Future: Film Shorts Premiere
Thursday, 25thMarch 2021
Watch live from 7pm
Post-film discussion on ZOOM 7.30-8.30pm

In our second film evening of the month, we are bringing you a world premiere of not one, but two short films! Each film has been created during the past year for Community Land Scotland, documenting stories of people, place and ownership across the country. Both films will go live at 7pm, and will be followed by a glittering celebration – or as glittery as we can manage in the present times! – live on ZOOM.

We will be joined for our post-film discussion by each of the filmmakers, Alasdair Satchel, Colin Tennant and Dr Saskia Coulson, alongside Morven Gibson of South West Mull and Iona Development, and Ailsa Raeburn and Linsay Chalmers of Community Land Scotland.

Owning our Future 
Alasdair Satchel

Owning Our Future from Community Land Scotland looks at how community land owning trusts and their communities have coped with the pandemic. CLS placed artists in 5 different trusts to consult the people about the current situation and how they think the community ownership model offers a means of response to an evolving situation.  This film gives voice to the perspectives of the trusts, leading thinkers in the field, the artists and the communities themselves.  Footage for this film has been sourced from community members and the artists in light of the pandemic.

Alasdair Satchel is a podcaster, film and theatre maker based on the Isle of Mull.  For more info please visit alsatch.com or whatwedointhewinter.com

Stories of Radical Landownership 
Coulson and Tennant

Over the last six-months, artists Saskia Coulson and Colin Tennant have worked with three Community Trusts across Scotland, Bridgend Farmhouse in Edinburgh, North Harris Trust and South West Mull & Iona Development Trust. The aim of this collaboration was to capture stories of radical landownership using photographs, film and audio recordings. The project allowed for some incredibly open and passionate conversations about contemporary land ownership both for the individual and community. This film is part of the culmination of work created during this project.

Coulson and Tennant (Dr Saskia Coulson and Colin Tennant) are an award-winning artist partnership who develop projects through a lens-based practice, combining genres of documentary and fine art. For more info please visit https://wearectproductions.com

 

Welcome! We are very proud to present two brand new short films as part of this evenings programme.

First up, Alasdair Satchel’s Owning Our Future.

Our second film is Coulson and Tennant’s Stories of Radical Land Ownership short film.

If you would like to watch this film with subtitles, you can toggle these on or off using the ‘CC’ button at the bottom of the film frame.

And finally, a bonus short! This short film, Eilean Againn Fhèin/Our Island, was made by a group of young people with The North Harris Trust supported by Coulson and Tennant as part of their Stories of Radical Land Ownership commission during the Summer of 2020.

 

 

We have made a recording of our live panel discussion hosted on Thursday 25th March, available to watch back via the link below.

About Reel to Real Cinema At Home
As we look to explore how we can use collective film watching at home as a means to gather, share ideas and connect we’ve been delving through the vastness of the internet to source interesting and relevant stories for now, on film.

Reel to Real continues to share a film and discussion evening on the second Friday of the month online, until we are able to return safely to our High Street home in The Stove, Dumfries.

About Community Land Scotland
Community Land Scotland is the representative body for Scotland’s community landowners. Our Members own land and buildings so they can revitalise their communities, often reversing years of decline. Together they own over 550,000 acres of land and own a huge range of assets including estates, woodlands, community centres, harbours, High Street buildings, former MoD bases and housing.

Categories
News

Artists and Community Landowners: Meet the Artists: Coulson and Tennant

Artists and Community Landowners is a collaborative project digging down into the stories of community landownership across Scotland and the impact it has for communities. The Stove is working with Community Land Scotland and six collaborating community trusts to explore stories of “ownership” and the effect it has had for local people, their identity, decision-making and the economic and social benefits for their community.

The Stories of Radical Landownership commission is being undertaken by Coulson and Tennant. As part of the project they have been visiting community land owners throughout the country; Bridgend Farmhouse in Edinburgh, Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust, North Harris Trusts and South West Mull and Iona Development Trust.

Can you briefly explain your practice?

We (Dr Saskia Coulson and Colin Tennant) are an award-winning artist partnership, who develop projects through a lens-based practice, combining genres of documentary and fine art. Our work is underpinned by academic research and through visual storytelling, we create artistic, documentary and environmental work and draw inspiration from historical, creative and ecological references.

We aim to make works that spark conversations about the past, present and future of our man-made and natural world. We strive to create stories and produce work that can speak to various audiences; from local communities, international media, academia, art and cultural sectors We want to reach as many people as possible because we seek to create work that can advocate for change in the world.

How are you approaching the commission?

We believe that capturing stories of radical land ownership is important, both in terms of current social documentation, but also as a means to advocate for future practices and policy. And we think that communities should not only have rights to their land, but also the ownership of their narrative. Therefore, we wish to explore and share the story of community land ownership in Scotland through collaborative visual storytelling. For several years we have been embedding forms of co-creation into the process of visual storytelling. This way of working leverages the voices of communities and can enlighten situations in ways that could have not been otherwise anticipated.

We aim to use our skills in making multimedia stories and foresee our project building on three collaborative actions:

Document– In the context of photography and filmmaking, our work sits at the intersection of fine art and documentary and this allows our work to be used across many different media platforms. We will make multimedia material that can raise awareness and visibility of community land trusts across Scotland. Understanding the needs and expectations of various audiences, we can work with project participants to tailor the narrative and identify the various platforms where these stories can have a real impact.

Enable– We have developed methods and processes in our practices which supports others in visual storytelling, specifically, using mobile phones to document their lives. We have experience in delivering training workshops, both in-person and online. We want to collaborate with the four trusts to create visual stories which show the unique background of their journey and the impact it has had on their community.

Connect– Our practice is transdisciplinary (arts and culture, editorial and academia), and we make connections to try and increase the recognition of our work and the work of our collaborators. We see this project as part of our ongoing practice. Prior to the Stories of Radical Landownership commission being publicised, we had been researching current initiatives, including the community buyout of Langholm and Wanlockhead, and would like to explore how this project could develop into a framework for other communities.

The main aim of this project is to co-create visual stories with the communities. We hope to create a mixture of multimedia pieces, including photographic essays, short films/moving image work and audio pieces. These stories are expected to take several forms. They can be made in Gaelic and English and can vary in length from each community partnership, but also culminate in a longer documentary project. We want the communities to feel ownership of these stories and to use them to demonstrate their successes, but also the challenges they face. We also want to explore how this way of working can advocate and support future community buyout projects and have an effect in areas such as policy and land reform.

What excites you about the project?

We are excited to be working with four diverse community trusts at a very important and exciting time of Scottish land reform. The trusts that we are working with as part of this project are Bridgend Farmhouse in Edinburgh, Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust, North Harris Trusts and South West Mull and Iona Development Trust.

Each trust provides a unique perspective in the bigger story of radical land ownership. We are collaborating with each to capture the journey that led them to form a trust and undertake a land asset transfer, but also to explore how the concept of ‘ownership’ effects the people of the communities. We are framing this project in an approach to building stories around the past, present and future of the trusts and community land ownership in Scotland.

There are many exciting aspects of this project, but we’ve been thrilled to meet so many interesting people from so many different backgrounds and hear from them their stories of land ownership. We’ve also been working with some young people from some of the trusts and getting to know what their aspirations for the future of their communities are.

How has the process been so far? Anything unexpected?

Currently, we have been immersing ourselves into the project by visiting the trusts and speaking to community members from each.

For example, earlier in the month we went to North Harris, a spectacular area of land located in the centre of a long chain of islands called the Western Isles off the North West coast of Scotland. Its dramatic Atlantic coastline and an incredible mountain range make this a very special place. The community purchased the land in 2003 and established the North Harris Trust to manage the estate. The estate comprises of 25,900 ha. of croft land, common grazings, and open hill ground. The Trust aims at building a stronger community and enhance its wild landscape.

We spent a week with the young people who live on, the estate as they undertook a John Muir Award during their October holidays. This was a great opportunity for us to get to know how young people perceive land ownership and what it means to them to grow up in a community trust. We were able to explore North Harris through their eyes, as they went on many hikes and kayak trips around the estate.

We also met community members who helped to establish North Harris Trust, and they took us to locations which meant a lot to them when they were young. The photo is of Callum, one of the founding members of the North Harris Trust. We started the week with a tour of all the places where he grew up whilst he told us stories of what it was like to be raised in such a remote and picturesque part of the world. The second photo is of Scarp, one of the places where Callum grew up but is now an uninhabited island.

We have also been visiting Bridgend Farmhouse several times over the past month to speak to the members about what it is like to be part of community trust in the city of Edinburgh. This is the only project partner that is situated in an urban context. We’ve been speaking to as many people as possible asking them about how they are involved in the trust, what they think is the value of having Bridgend Farmhouse as a community-owned asset and what they would like for the future of the organisation.

We’ve also been asking everyone at Bridgend what they think ‘radical land ownership’ means to them. We’ve been surprised that for many it is a simple idea that by having a place where you can go and do something that connects you with nature, physical making or building in the company of people you feel connected to. It is often reflected on in sharp contrast to many of the current values that are prevalent in contemporary society.

Has covid-19 affected your work with the community?

Everyone has been more careful in light of the global pandemic and we’ve been keeping up and abiding by the increased social distancing regulations. Fortunately, we have been spending a lot of time outdoors as part of this project. We’ve been lucky so far as most of the time that we have been collaborating with people the weather has been surprisingly good for Scottish standards.

We have also been meeting some community members on online platforms instead of face-to-face meetings. The silver lining of this approach is that we have been able to organise and meet a lot more people with a greater geographical reach than what we might have normally.

This short film, Our Island/Eilean Againn Fhèin was created by young people working with The North Harris Trust alongside Saskia and Colin as part of their project.

Categories
News

Artists and Community Landowners: Meet the Artists: Virginia Hutchison

Artists and Community Landowners is a collaborative project digging down into the stories of community landownership across Scotland and the impact it has for communities. The Stove is working with Community Land Scotland and 6 collaborating Community Trusts to explore stories of “ownership” and the effect it has had for local people, their identity, decision-making and the economic and social benefits for their community.

Virginia is working directly with Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn – Galson Estate Trust – on the Isle of Lewis. As a maker with a strong conversational aspect to her work, collaborative engagement underpins Virginia’s practice.

Artist Virginia Hutchison

Can you briefly explain your practice?

Evolving around conversation my practice is broadly participatory and exists within an environment of social engagement. Shifting from work that sits within civic spaces to work within education, questions of how stimulus from works of art and architecture can affect memory and learning is central to this. Where and how we respond to works of art also affect our perceptions of ownership, the legacy of any particular artwork and the authorship of new narratives associated with it. With the processes involved in artistic production and presentation in mind what can be learned from how we engage with artistic practices? What happens when the roles of artist, object and viewer shift and how can we challenge the processes we have in place for critique and evaluation?

How are you approaching the commission?

Embarking on this commission during a global pandemic and the issues this presents in terms of how and where we communicate with each other is central to how I have chosen to approach this project. Taking the object as a point of departure for new narratives I am creating a series of cast bronze ‘talking objects’ that will become way-markers around the Galson estate – points where we might stop and reflect or navigate to another area. Embedded within the bronzed peats are QR codes – digital codes that when scanned will direct the listener to an audio archive on the Urras website. As a dynamic link the archive can develop alongside the walks and talks. As the archive grows the community will have the opportunity to site the way-markers permanently or to take them for a walk. As hand sized objects they are able travel to around the island – or mainland, contributing to other narratives around the country.

What excites you about the project?

I’m really delighted to be working with such an engaged community such as the Galson Estate and to learn first-hand how radical land ownership has helped to develop the Estate socially, culturally and economically.  Ideas of ownership are central to my own work and I’m excited to see how the project is shaped by the community.

How has the process been so far? Anything unexpected?

It has of course been challenging in terms of how we engage with each other but it has allowed the objects breathing space to develop and for us to experiment with digital archiving processes.

Has covid-19 affected your work with the community?

Expanding on my answer to question above – it is of course very hard to conduct interviews or community engagement when restrictions keep changing and when folk may live in different boroughs. Having a period in which experimentation and object production takes place is providing a buffer to this. It is also allowing the project to evolve in response to new COVID developments and allowing us to come up with solutions to community engagement.

Categories
News

Artists and Community Landowners: Meet the Artists: Richard Bracken

Artists and Community Landowners: Meet the Artists

Artists and Community Landowners; is a collaborative project digging down into the stories of community landownership across Scotland and the impact it has for communities. The Stove is working with Community Land Scotland and 6 collaborating Community Trusts to explore stories of “ownership” and the effect it has had for local people, their identity, decision-making and the economic and social benefits for their community.

Richard is currently working with Abriachan Forest Trust, an environmental artist and creative educator based in Drumnadrochit, with 10 years experience of engaging with communities and collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams in Scotland and abroad.

Can you briefly explain your practice?

My work is a response to an ongoing, personal exploration of the land. I’m influenced by specific places, individual experience and wider themes that relate to how we live with the land.

My attention is usually drawn towards ecology, folklore, natural processes, time and memory.  I typically create sculpture using casting and mould-making processes. Drawing, photography and printmaking methods are also key aspects of my practice.

How are you approaching the commission?

I’ve been keen to understand the story of Abriachan Forest Trust by looking at the past, present and future of the community and it’s relationship to the land. I’m looking at the story as an ongoing journey and to identify places that relate to key stages of this journey the community is taking together.

I’m aiming to create artwork that is accessible – eg objects that can be picked up, held and taken for a walk; I believe that walking around the land plays a key role in understanding the story of AFT, so I’ve felt drawn to creating something that is portable, rather than something that exists in a fixed location.

So far I’ve been:

  • Getting to know how the trust operates and how it has developed
  • Looking through archive material that relates to the development of AFT – photographs, newsletters, forest plans and other maps.
  • Getting to know the young people and volunteers that participate in AFT’s activities – learning about the land from them by going on walks with them.
  • Talking to staff and community members about their relationships to AFT
  • Finding out which places resonate with the community by asking a series of questions.

Learning about materials I can feasibly source from AFT, plus facilities / expertise in the community that may come in useful for fabrication.

What excites you about the project?

The opportunity to contribute creatively to the conversation about land use in Scotland.

Getting to know a community and seeing how they have grasped opportunities to utilise their land in ways that benefit local people and the environment.

Exploring the parallels between young trees and young people – the growth and development of both are crucial to AFT and their long term vision.

On a personal note, having recently moved to within about 6 miles of Abriachan, the project has provided me with an invaluable opportunity to make new connections that I hope will last well beyond the lifespan of this project.

How has the process been so far? Anything unexpected?

Living so close has been a great advantage, giving me time to meet up with staff from AFT, slot into existing sessions and create new ones with relative ease.  This has allowed me to start getting to know people and allowed me to communicate to others about the project.  I feel that my thinking around the commission has benefited from this close contact, as I come to understand AFT better, letting that influence my work.

Being close-by has also meant that I can spend my own time exploring other parts of AFT.

Has covid-19 affected your work with the community?

AFT are not able to work with as many young people as they would normally, so I have had less opportunity to see this side in it’s fullness.

Some uncertainty around changes in guidelines and restrictions has meant having to be flexible in planning, or waiting until the last minute, but generally this has not been a disruption on outdoor working.

Categories
News Opportunities

Artists & Community Landowners Commission Opportunities



Artists and Community Landowners – telling the stories of Scotland’s land in the hands of local people. 
Luchd-ealain agus Luchd-seilbh Fearann Coimhearsnachd – ag innse mu fhearainn Alba ann an làmhan na coimhearsnachd 
 
Overview 
Sealladh Aithghearr 
Working with Community Land Scotland and local Community Trusts, Abriachan Forest Trust near Inverness and Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn on the Isle of Lewis, Artists and Community Landownership is a project with The Stove Network that brings artists and community landowners together to tell their stories through three separate commission opportunities. What inspired them to act, how they got to where they are now, what challenges and surprises they faced along the way and the effect it has had on their place, people and environment.  
The project aims to raise awareness of community landownership both to communities and to Scotland by taking new approaches to telling the stories of post purchase community landowners, and the wider story of community ownership across Scotland through three Artists Commissions: two directly with community landowners and one with Community Land Scotland through a “Stories of Radical Landownership” commission that will focus on the journeys of another four communities. Together Artists and Community Landowners will explore the themes of how we manage our local environments, who decides, and how we can collectively act. 
Ag obair le Fearann Coimhearsnachd na h-Alba agus le urrasan coimhearsnachd ionadail, Urras Choille Obar Itheachain faisg air Inbhir Nis agus Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn air Eilean Leòdhais, ’s e pròiseact bhon Stove Network a th’ ann an ‘Luchd-ealain agus Sealbhadaireachd Fearann Coimhearsnachd’ a bheir luchd-ealain agus luchd-seilbh còmhla gus sgeulachdan innse tro trì dhiofar chothroman coimiseanaidh. Dè thug orra toiseach-tòiseachaidh a dhèanamh, mar a ràinig iad far a bheil iad a-nis, na cnapan-starra agus duilgheadasan a tha air a bhith aca air an t-slighe agus a’ bhuaidh a thug e air an àite, na daoine agus an àrainneachd. 
Tha am pròiseact seo airson aire a thogail mu shealbhadaireachd fearann coimhearsnachd, an dà chuid do choimhearsnachdan agus do dh’Alba, le bhith a’ coimhead air dòighean ùra sgeulachdan nan luchd-seilbh innse, a’ toirt a-steach Alba air fad cuideachd. Thèid seo a dhèanamh tro trì dhiofar choimiseanan luchd-ealain:  dhà le luchd-seilbh fearann coimhearsnachd agus aon le Fearann Coimhearsnachd na h-Alba tro choimisean ‘Sgeulachdan mu Shealbhadaireachd Radaigeach air Fearann Coimhearsnachd’ a bheir sùil air na slighean a ghabh ceithir coimhearsnachdan eile. Còmhla, coimheadaidh ‘Luchd-ealain agus Luchd-seilbh Fearann Coimhearsnachd’ air mar a bhios sinn a’ stiùireadh ar n-àrainneachd ionadail, cò bhios a’ tighinn gu co-dhùnaidhean agus mar a dh’obraicheas sinn uile còmhla.  
 
Download Artists and Community Landowners brief here.
Download “Stories of Radical Landownership” brief here.
Download Info on Criteria and Working here.
Download Partners and Participants Info here.
 
‘Aig Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn tha Gàidhlig gu mòr aig cridhe ar n-obair. Às aonais choimhearsnachd cha bhiodh cànan ann agus tha e na phrìomhachas dhuinn Gàidhlig a bhrosnachadh agus a leasachadh ann an iomadach diofar seadh, mar dhìleab a tha ceangailte ri gach prìomhachas agus a bhios faicsinneach agus follaiseach anns gach rud a nì sinn sa choimhearsnachd.’ 
 – Shona Nic a’ Mhaoilein, Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn 
‘At Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn, Gaelic is very much at the heart of what we do. Without community there is no language and it is a priority of ours to encourage and develop the use of Gaelic in many different settings as a fully visible legacy tied to every strategic outcome and every aspect of our community work.’ 
– Shona Macmillan, Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn 
 
The Stove Network  
The Stove is an arts and community organisation based in the centre of Dumfries in South West Scotland. It is a successful social enterprise, and the first artist-led Development Trust in Scotland, providing regular employment for 25 people with a turnover of £500 000+1. Our kitchen-table style of practice and developing work is one based on the values of risk-taking, collaboration, emotional openness, empowerment, positive disruptive change, innovation and inclusion. We are committed to finding locally-led solutions as part of our place and community.  
Our practice is one that engages artists and creative people to co-develop work from regular conversational activity into large-scale strategic projects. It is a process-led practice that uses creative activity to facilitate community-led development, projects and decision-making grown from a foundation in community engagement. It is a multi-disciplinary practice working with artists and other creative practitioners, individuals and groups, organisational partners, third sector organisations, local authorities and governing bodies to deliver a program of regular activity alongside large-scale participatory arts projects. 
 
Community Land Scotland 
Community Land Scotland is the representative body for Scotland’s aspiring and post-purchase community landowners. They promote the sustainable development benefits of community landownership and work with communities to support and encourage community ownership of land and buildings throughout Scotland.  
Their VISION is of more communities reaping the benefits of community landownership and promoting a socially just Scotland through community landownership. Together their members are own some 560,000 acres of land, home to some 25,000 people. 
#LandReform
#CreativityMatters

Categories
News Opportunities

Artists & Community Landowners Commission Opportunities


Artists and Community Landowners – telling the stories of Scotland’s land in the hands of local people. 

Luchd-ealain agus Luchd-seilbh Fearann Coimhearsnachd – ag innse mu fhearainn Alba ann an làmhan na coimhearsnachd 

Overview 

Sealladh Aithghearr 

The Stove is looking for artists to work with Community Land Scotland and local Community Trusts, Abriachan Forest Trust near Inverness and Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn on the Isle of Lewis, through a project Artists and Community Landowners. The project will bring artists and community landowners together through three separate commission opportunities for artists to work collaboratively with these communities over a period of four months finding creative and active ways to hear, learn and share their stories. What inspired them to act, how did they get to where they are now, what challenges and surprises they faced along the way and the effect it has had on their place, people and environment.

Artists and Community Landowners aims to raise awareness of community landownership both to communities and to Scotland by taking new approaches to telling the stories of post purchase community landowners, and the wider story of community ownership across Scotland through three Artists Commissions: two directly with community landowners and one with Community Land Scotland through a “Stories of Radical Landownership” commission that will focus on the journeys of another four communities. Together Artists and Community Landowners will explore the themes of how we manage our local environments, who decides, and how we can collectively act. 

Tha The Stove a’ sireadh luchd-ealain gus obrachadh còmhla ri Fearann Coimhearsnachd na h-Alba agus urrasan coimhearsnachd ionadail, Urras Choille Obar Itheachain faisg air Inbhir Nis agus Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn air Eilean Leòdhais, tro phròiseict air a bheil ‘Luchd-ealain agus Luchd-seilbh Fearann Coimhearsnachd’. Tha am pròiseact ag amas air luchd-ealain agus luchd-seilbh a thoirt còmhla tro trì dhiofar chothroman coimiseanaidh a mhaireas ceithir mìosan, a’ lorg dhòighean chruthachail agus bheòthail air na sgeulachdan aca ionnsachadh agus a thoirt gu aire an t-sluaigh.

Luchd-ealain agus Luchd-seilbh Fearann Coimhearsnachd seo airson aire a thogail mu shealbhadaireachd fearann coimhearsnachd, an dà chuid do choimhearsnachdan agus do dh’Alba, le bhith a’ coimhead air dòighean ùra sgeulachdan nan luchd-seilbh innse, a’ toirt a-steach Alba air fad cuideachd. Thèid seo a dhèanamh tro trì dhiofar choimiseanan luchd-ealain:  dhà le luchd-seilbh fearann coimhearsnachd agus aon le Fearann Coimhearsnachd na h-Alba tro choimisean ‘Sgeulachdan mu Shealbhadaireachd Radaigeach air Fearann Coimhearsnachd’ a bheir sùil air na slighean a ghabh ceithir coimhearsnachdan eile. Còmhla, coimheadaidh ‘Luchd-ealain agus Luchd-seilbh Fearann Coimhearsnachd’ air mar a bhios sinn a’ stiùireadh ar n-àrainneachd ionadail, cò bhios a’ tighinn gu co-dhùnaidhean agus mar a dh’obraicheas sinn uile còmhla.  

 

Download Artists and Community Landowners brief here.

Download “Stories of Radical Landownership” brief here.

Download Info on Criteria and Working here.

Download Partners and Participants Info here.

 

‘Aig Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn tha Gàidhlig gu mòr aig cridhe ar n-obair. Às aonais choimhearsnachd cha bhiodh cànan ann agus tha e na phrìomhachas dhuinn Gàidhlig a bhrosnachadh agus a leasachadh ann an iomadach diofar seadh, mar dhìleab a tha ceangailte ri gach prìomhachas agus a bhios faicsinneach agus follaiseach anns gach rud a nì sinn sa choimhearsnachd.’ 

 – Shona Nic a’ Mhaoilein, Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn 

‘At Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn, Gaelic is very much at the heart of what we do. Without community there is no language and it is a priority of ours to encourage and develop the use of Gaelic in many different settings as a fully visible legacy tied to every strategic outcome and every aspect of our community work.’ 

– Shona Macmillan, Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn 

 

The Stove Network  

The Stove is an arts and community organisation based in the centre of Dumfries in South West Scotland. It is a successful social enterprise, and the first artist-led Development Trust in Scotland, providing regular employment for 25 people with a turnover of £500 000+1. Our kitchen-table style of practice and developing work is one based on the values of risk-taking, collaboration, emotional openness, empowerment, positive disruptive change, innovation and inclusion. We are committed to finding locally-led solutions as part of our place and community.  

Our practice is one that engages artists and creative people to co-develop work from regular conversational activity into large-scale strategic projects. It is a process-led practice that uses creative activity to facilitate community-led development, projects and decision-making grown from a foundation in community engagement. It is a multi-disciplinary practice working with artists and other creative practitioners, individuals and groups, organisational partners, third sector organisations, local authorities and governing bodies to deliver a program of regular activity alongside large-scale participatory arts projects. 

 

Community Land Scotland 

Community Land Scotland is the representative body for Scotland’s aspiring and post-purchase community landowners. They promote the sustainable development benefits of community landownership and work with communities to support and encourage community ownership of land and buildings throughout Scotland.  

Their VISION is of more communities reaping the benefits of community landownership and promoting a socially just Scotland through community landownership. Together their members are own some 560,000 acres of land, home to some 25,000 people. 

#LandReform
#CreativityMatters