The Stove Network
What’s in store at The Stove this year? With building works continuing downstairs in The Stove this month ahead of our regular opening times from next month, the Stove’s operations and curatorial teams are busy preparing and planning for a bumper 2016 year. Select each image below for more details.
You are invited to share ideas and contribute to our Cultural Wayfinding event on 5th – 7th November with Lateral North and The Stove Network.
Town Centers are a hot topic throughout Scotland at the moment and how people might once again populate them. Initiatives have been established by the Scottish government and partnership organisations with the likes of Scotland Can Do Towns and Scottish Towns Partnership leading the way and working with communities throughout Scotland. Discussions, conferences, ideas and innovative project proposals are increasing as we try to connect communities to their local shops and town centers.
Dumfries is one such place taking an extremely innovative approach where art and design takes centre stage to provide innovative solutions for their town centre. Arts resource, The Stove Network, have been working on a variety of projects to regenerate the town centre, residing in one such building no longer in use and turning it into a hub of creative thinking and out of-the-box design.
The Stove Network have teamed up with Lateral North, an architecture, research and design collective based in Glasgow but with strong connections to Dumfries, to work on an exciting, dynamic and innovative project reflecting on the culture, heritage and built environment of Dumfries town centre which has been forgotten or is not particularly highlighted.
Their Cultural Wayfinding project aims to establish a series of opportunities, which would not only increase tourism but also act as an economic catalyst for new jobs and opportunities for local people based around art and design showing how it can highlight the culture of this historic town.
The first of these initiatives aims to showcase Dumfries’ relationship with Norway and in particular the buildings which lie hidden within our town centre which once hosted the Norwegian army in exile and provided them with a space to hold meetings and gave them places to live throughout World War II.
Lateral North and The Stove Network will host a 3 day workshop between 5-7th of November where they invite the public along to contribute their ideas to a public art installation which will highlight the building used as Headquarters and Cultural Centre by Norwegians from 1940: Norway House at 8 Church Street. The building currently lies empty, and with extortionate retail rates probably will for some time to come, however, this project will highlight the creative opportunities which could happen within such a space allowing communities to bring tourists into their town centers and create economic activity through their existing built environment.
Graham Hogg of Lateral North who was brought up in Dumfries said “I’ve watched Dumfries town centre slowly lose more and more of its local shops with vacant shops popping up. It’s had a detremental effect on the town as a whole and I believe it is fantastic that Stove is leading this exciting project. To be part of it is a real honour and hopefully through the Norway House project we can create an exciting and innovative model which can be applied throughout Dumfries town centre in the future but also be adopted throughout the rest of Scotland.”
To attend the workshop please email Ellen at the Stove Network: [email protected]
NB There are paid opportunities for Stove Network members to assist with the project on 5, 6 and 7th November. To find out more please contact [email protected]
Supported by:
Open House sees The Stove Network populating The Stove at 100 High Street for the first time since building works began last year, and welcomes the town and the wider network to stop by, get involved in and experience some of what we hope to bring into Dumfries’ town centre. Open House is a series of very different events that will show the versatility of The Stove as a physical space and the ambition of the project for the town centre.
We kick off with the third annual Dumfries Music Conference on 24th and 25th April. As in previous years, DMC2015 will feature workshops, talks, film, live music, expert opinion and creative collaboration. Through a collection of brilliant partners and guests, we hope to educate, inspire and entertain. DMC2015 will mark the official opening of The Stove Building at 100 High Street. In celebration of this we are going to fill the entire building with colour, music and people. Full details will be made available here as they are announced!
On 28th April The Stove hosts Open Mouth – a day of spoken word, performance and cooking. During the day The Stove building will hold workshops for school students before then moving into a performance workshop from 5pm. A public performance starts at 7pm featuring Moffat based Sarah Indigo and other performers from the Scottish spoken word scene and young people who have attended the daytime workshops. Full details available here
Open Mouth is specially created and delivered for The Stove Network by Sarah Indigo, Eryl Shields and Open Jar Collective
Produced in collaboration with Wigtown Festival Company
29th April sees House Warming – an open invite (12.30pm-4.30pm) to come and see The Stove building, have a chat and make a T-shirt.
From 6pm there will be a Stove Members Gathering, which will include a public bonfire, and Bannock making in the town square with Open Jar from 7.30pm. More details available here.
At 7pm on Saturday 2nd May come to The Stove for the public launch of HAME, an impressionistic journey through Dumfries & Galloway voiced by those who call it home. Film, voice, field recording and subtle music intermingle and connect across 2 floors and out into the High Street of Dumfries.
HAME is a film and sound installation by artists Mark Lyken and Emma Dove, specially commissioned for the opening of The Stove at 100 High St, Dumfries.
Full details of the launch will be announced shortly, and available here
Every Tuesday starting 19th May (until mid June) you are invited to Drop-In @ The Stove – pop in for a brew and a blether about The Stove and the town…. what would you like to see The Stove doing? What are your ideas for the town centre? What would you like to do at The Stove? We’ll be open and we’d love to hear your ideas! Drop In will run from 12 noon till 6pm every Tuesday, so just drop in on your way past! More details available here
Keep up with the latest updates on Open House via our social media on Facebook and Twitter, using #OpenHouse
It’s always good to start off the week with some good news, and as many of you may have heard across social media or the news over the weekend (check out The Herald here and a-n online here), The Stove has joined 118 other organisations in Creative Scotland’s National Portfolio for 2015-18.
Read our press release in full:
Dumfries’ The Stove Network has joined a prestigious list of just 119 arts organisation across the whole country who have been awarded National Portfolio status and a three year funding package.
The decision follows an open application process which saw 264 organisations apply to the national arts body Creative Scotland and now puts The Stove Network in such prestigious Company as Tramway in Glasgow and the Edinburgh International Festival.
Since the demise of DGArts in 2011 Dumfries and Galloway has had no nationally funded arts organisations. Wigtown Book Festival was also successful in their application for funding from 2015-18 alongside The Stove Network.
Janet Archer, Chief Executive Officer of Creative Scotland, said: “I am delighted to announce such a creatively rich and diverse portfolio of regularly funded organisations across Dumfries & Galloway. It represents some of Scotland’s most important, innovative and exciting cultural organisations, producing and presenting great work across literature and visual art.
“Importantly, these organisations will also provide significant support for individual artists and the broader workforce across the area’s creative sector.
“Following a clear and robust decision making process, I’m delighted that two organisations in Dumfries & Galloway are joining the portfolio of three-year regular funded organisations.
Linda Mallett – member of The Stove Network curatorial team said: “This is a massive affirmation of our work from our national arts body – The Stove Network believes in partnership working and we hope that this award will go towards our programme of developing projects with the brilliant artists and groups locally, nationally and internationally.
“We have always taken a stance that we should be a means of drawing new resources into the region rather than placing another burden on precious funding locally – this award is all new outside money that we will be able to use for the benefit of the citizens of Dumfries.
“This funding will allow us to carefully plan out a sustainable future for The Stove Network when the building works are complete at 100 High Street and bring something entirely new and exciting for the town centre and local people … the future is bright!”
It’s an exciting day down at the Stove, and as if the build up to tonight’s big gig as part of DMC wasn’t enough, we are pleased to welcome in the morning with the following press release. Go team Dumfries!
Several organisations were jumping for joy at the news in Dumfries today – that the town has been shortlisted for the coveted Creative Place Award for 2014.
A joint bid was led by Big Burns Supper, The Stove and Electric Theatre Workshop to attract investment of £150,000 to the town to support the development of a Creative Place through a year-long celebration of Creativity to help support Dumfries town centre.
Uniquely – the bid has been developed by the arts organisations independently, which mirrors the trend that has been happening in Dumfries over the last three years. Artists and their Organisations are leading the way in the regeneration of place, community and identity.
Graham Main, Artistic Director of Electric Theatre Workshop & Big Burns Supper said, “We are thrilled with the news of the shortlist – which celebrates the ground breaking transformation, and creative leadership model in our community. Organisation’s like Big Burns Supper, The Stove and Electric Theatre Workshop – and our many associate organisations like Theatre Royal, Peter Pan Moatbrae, Greyfriars Concerts, DG Arts Festival and The Crichton Campus are leading on a fresh approach to arts delivery, and redefining the rules to creative participation through a new confidence that is spreading throughout our region.”
Matt Baker, Stove Network artists collective founder member said: “Culture and Heritage have been identified by many as the key to revitalising Dumfries – a future built on assets like the river, the history and the creative talents of our citizens. Much work has been done already by groups like Stove, Big Burns Supper and Electric Theatre Workshop – we have all focussed on making opportunities for other local folk to get involved and through this building a network of amazing people with a ‘can do’ attitude.
Being shortlisted for this award is amazing national recognition of both the work done to date and potential for the future. Dumfries is ready to claim itself Queen of the South again for the new century – we look forward to working with everyone to make that happen.”
It comes on the same day that Big Burns Supper announced plans for their Homecoming Carnival, which will set the town alight on the 25th January 2014, which will see over 2000 people taking part in the organisations largest ever Participation project to date.
A massive community celebration which help pay tribute to the centenary of World War One, with second year students from several high schools helping to design and create the first ever Burns Night Carnival in the town’s history.
As the news came in, Final preparations were being made to the Dumfries Music Conference weekend which is taking place at The Stove in the centre of Dumfries. The second Dumfries Music Conference (#DMC2013) will pick up where Greg Wilson signed off last year, with a programme centred on sharing knowledge, ideas and thoughts about music.
Their aim is to be progressive, which is why this year’s sessions have a different complexion than last year’s. Where 2012’s focus was electronic music and technology, 2013 is about shining a light on the music industry’s storytellers.
As part of their continued development, Electric Theatre Workshop have announced continued expansion into communities throughout Dumfries, supporting communities and schools to get access to creativity.
The Community Interest Company based in the centre of Dumfries has opened Youth Theatre projects at Lochside Primary, Lincluden Primary, St Teresa’s Primary and St Ninian’s Primary Schools throughout the next year. It comes as part of the organisations pledge to lift barriers to creativity in Dumfries thanks to support from the Holywood Trust.
Dumfries will find out at an Awards Ceremony in January 2014 whether or town the town will lift the prize.
