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EAFS – Adventures

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The Environmental Art Festival Scotland 2015 – an international biennial of contemporary art practice in the landscape – went offgrid into the wilds of the Lowther Hills (South West Scotland), a two day festival based at Morton Castle near Thornhill. EAFS 2015 explored themes of generosity and hospitality, journeys and migrations, and foolishness and playfulness as a means of understanding the world – through a weekend of art installations and experiments, walks, talks, performances and campfire discussions.

EAFS 15 was created and co-produced by The Stove Network and Wide Open working with the amazing Robbie Coleman and the  EAFS recharge team, with additional support from Spring Fling.

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EAFS – Discussions

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The Environmental Art Festival Scotland 2015 – an international biennial of contemporary art practice in the landscape – went offgrid into the wilds of the Lowther Hills, a two day festival based at Morton Castle near Thornhill. EAFS 2015 explored themes of generosity and hospitality, journeys and migrations, and foolishness and playfulness as a means of understanding the world – through a weekend of art installations and experiments, walks, talks, performances and campfire discussions.

EAFS was a point of gathering, meeting and discussion in the open air, with walks and adventures out into the landscape, in the evenings visitors returned to the festival site to exchange new discoveries made during the days explorations, and to gather around the EAFS campfires to discuss everything from navigating new futures to death and the unknown, tracing local water courses  to challenging new ways to tackle global climate change.

EAFS 15 was created and co-produced by The Stove Network and Wide Open working with the amazing Robbie Coleman and the  EAFS recharge team, with additional support from Spring Fling.

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Environmental Arts Festival Scotland 2015…

In 2013 The Stove Network joined with Wide-Open and Spring Fling to co-produce the first Environmental Art Festival Scotland (EAFS) in Dumfries and Galloway……now we are delighted to announce that we are part of bringing you the second outing of the festival – EAFS 2015’Off-Grid’ has been announced this week:

The ruins of Morton Castle, and its fabulous surrounding countryside, will provide the spectacular backdrop for the 2015 Environmental Art Festival Scotland over the weekend of 29/30th August.

The festival, in Dumfries and Galloway, will be an intriguing and playful opportunity for artists to help change ideas and influence thinking about how we need to adapt and change in an era of climate change.

There will be a strong emphasis on youth with five interns playing a central role in organising and delivering the project, helping build a wider, younger audience to engage with environmental issues.

At the heart of the event will be a variety of specially commissioned artworks plus walks, fireside conversations, food art plus other activities to inspire the imagination.

Ruaridh Thin-Smith, one of the interns, said: “The festival will be really enjoyable and fun while addressing some of the most pressing issues of our age.

“EAFS is about getting young people to understand a simple truth – that whatever it might seem, we are in control of our own spaces, our places, our environment.

“If we can understand that we have the power to affect positive changes and make our planet a better place to live, then we can accomplish anything.

EAFS interns at Morton Castle, by Colin Tennant 02. Seen in picture Meredith Langley Vine. MR

The other interns, all from Dumfries and Galloway which is home to EAFS, are Meredith Langley Vine, Katie Anderson, Daniel Leigh and Kerry Annison. The EAFS youth project, which involves a wider group of young people as well as the interns, is funded by the Holywood Trust.

Over the last year the EAFS team has been developing the ethos for a thoughtful and playful festival for 2015. This is reflected in the central themes of “inventiveness, foolishness and generosity as a way of understanding the world”.

It aims to attract visitors from all over Scotland, and beyond, and will bring together people who work with the land, scientists, artists, environmentalists, cultural thinkers, poets and performers to participate in the festival.

Jan Hogarth, a co-curator of EAFS, said: “The castle and its amazing landscape are a brilliant place for an environmental art event which is all about our changing relationship with the environment.

“We are expecting lots of interest from all over the region and the country as a whole in the event, and we are delighted to be working with our team of five interns. They are bringing a huge vitality and a fresh perspective to EAFS.

“We are very grateful for the support of the Holywood Trust and their recognition of the need to engage young people in the arts and landscape.”

Photos by Colin Tennant

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Nithraid – The Results are In!

Nithraid

The Whitesands came alive this weekend – as the Nithraid did indeed come up with the tide. From the starting point at Carsethorn, thirteen boats made the trip up the Caul – with first place being awarded to Piella, skippered by Adam Booth with a time of 2 hours and 6 minutes. But a challenging race it proved, as sand banks, strong currents and low winds proved the course to be a tricky one. 

Photo credits: Colin Tennant – see more here
The Salt Cow being lowered into the Nith by the winning team Photo credits: Oriel Marshal – see more here

The Salt Cow was paraded through the streets of Dumfries with all ceremonial care which gathered numbers as it passed the Midsteeple, rounded the Burns statue (twice), down the Vennels and across the Devorgilla bridge to continue a loop around the river bridges to the beating of drums (and diggeri-moos).

Banners were released over the old bridge as the boats arrived, proclaiming the words of Dumfries including:

Seize the potential.

On the brink.

Decent.

Cut rates.

Despite the slightly dreich conditions – spectators arrived and lined both sides of the river to behold the unusual sight. Many thanks go out to everyone who was involved and to all who turned out on Saturday.

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The Nithraid

From now till September, The Stove will be inviting people to contribute to an event that celebrates the River Nith’s importance – both historically and today. From its role as a trade route delivering economic lifeblood to Dumfries, to its significance as a conservation area, and to individuals and groups who find peace, tranquility and joy from its banks and passing moments.

Forming part of the Environmental Arts Festival Scotland, The Nithraid will culminate in a daring dinghy race from Carsethorn to the very centre of Dumfries on Saturday 21st September. As the equinox pushes the tide to its annual peak, intrepid sailors will tackle the river head-on, surfing (maybe literally) the incoming tide to reach the finishing line at the Caul in Dumfries, where the salt water and fresh water meet.

When the boats arrive in the town, they will be greeted by a sculptured cow cast in salt and The Stove’s huge fabric banners floating downstream from the Old Bridge, welcoming them to Dumfries with messages from the townspeople. We would like your help writing those messages.

We’ll be decorating banners at community events in August and September and will turn to our social media channels for inspiration too. As we gather words and phrases, we’ll start to build a wall of words. Then our bicycle-powered poetry machine will mix them up and stick them together to form messages for our banners.

The Stove’s community fun day takes place in Lochside on Sunday 18th August and we hope to do a similar event in Dumfries town centre on Tuesday 10th September. The social media initiative will kick off in August. Keep your eyes peeled for #NithRaid on Twitter and Facebook.

Our River Nith; the passenger, the deliverer and the exporter. With untold tales from its length and breadth, and its historical depths. From its rise in the East Ayrshire hills to Ards point, 15 miles south of Dumfries, where it meets the Solway Firth and greets the wider world – connecting the town locally, nationally and globally.

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Nith Scoping – about to sweep the nation

Environmental Artist Hannah Brackston has spent 3 months exploring the different relationships that people have with the River Nith in Dumfries. Through the week of Inbetween:Dumfries the artist will be inviting people peer into the depths of the river using specially created Nith Scoping equipment. Also, look out for Hannah’s limited edition newspaper all about the Nith – available at venues around town.

Here are the details of how Nith Scoping works…..for detailed times and locations download the full inbetween programme or look in The Stove windows (100 High St, DG1 2BJ)

Artist Hannah says:

“Nithscoping is a new and activity I have invented to provide people in Dumfries with an exciting experience of their river from a perspective from which it is seldom seen. It addresses the challenge and struggle we can have in trying to understand and engage with natural forces (such as rivers) which we no longer have an industrial use for or much control of. In the case of the Nith in Dumfries, the river bed is one of the most talked of topics in the town, not because most people have actually seen it, but because it lies at the heart of strongly held dredging debate. It is trapped invisibly between those who want it to be removed to solve the towns enduring flooding problems and environmental groups and geologists who work to protect its essential biodiversity. In my attempt to understand this debate further I was troubled by a question; surely it is more meaningful to debate something we can actually look at? several adapted pieces of piping, magnifying lens, some recycled bicycle inner tubes, duck tape, truck tarpaulin and empty water bottles later, this has become possible…”

Nith Scoping Times:

Monday 5th Nov: 08.52 – 14.59 (Whitesands)
Tuesday 6th Nov: 09.40 – 15.50 (Whitesands)
Wednesday 7th Nov: 10.43 – 16.57 (Greensands)
Thursday 8th Nov: 12.00 – 18.14 (Whitesands)
Friday 9th Nov: 13.13 – 19.26 (Whitesands)

Saturday 10th Nov ……view all the Nith Scoping equipment and talk to the artist about the weeks experiences – come to The Stove between 3pm and 4pm.

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