Tag: Making Dumfries

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News Opportunities Project Updates

Join Creative Spaces as an Associate

We’re looking for THREE NEW PEOPLE to join our team.

Here at The Stove, we’re all about supporting creativity and helping those who are interested in building a career in the creative sector.

Creativity, by definition, is the the use of the imagination or original ideas to create something.

So, if you’re the type of person who likes to dream up new solutions to problems, can imagine new possibilities and work with your peers to engage with young people from across Dumfries & Galloway in a creative way, this might just be the opportunity you’ve been looking for.

These three positions are offered on a part-time basis for a fixed period of 10 months. Each successful candidate will receive a monthly payment of £560* and will work with The Stove Team on various projects, and with guidance, will learn to develop and deliver a programme of activities and events aimed at the under 30’s.

Fee: £560 pcm freelance contract (equates to 8 days per month at £70 per day)

Duration: 10 months (8 days per calendar month from May – March)

Start Date: 8th May 2023

These opportunities aren’t just for people already working in the sector and you don’t have to be an ‘artist’, have a degree or previous experience to be considered. The Creative Spaces programme is designed to offer you the chance to experiment, provoke, create, and inspire, the only criteria is, you must be aged between 16-30 and have some form of creative work** you’d like to develop.

If you’re interested in finding out more, check out our full application pack here or book to attend our Creative Spaces Showcase on 31st March and hear from last year’s Associates who will be chatting about their experience of being in the programme.

CREATIVE SPACES SHOWCASE, BOOK YOUR PLACE

*Fees are based on a commitment of approximately 80 days over the 10month period (8 days per calendar month at a day rate of £70).

** We define ‘creative work’ as anything from photography, drawing, film, music and performance, to cookery, design and activism. If you have a creative passion and want to explore it further, let us know!

How to Apply

Deadline for Applications: Friday 7th April 23 at midday.

Application Requirements:

Personal Statement (500 words max) or video/audio file (max 5 minutes)
You can use this statement to tell us about yourself, what draws you to the project and what you feel you might be able offer and/or gain through the Creative Spaces Associate programme.
Feel free to be creative with your application, all we ask it that you answer the questions below:

  1. What do think is/are the main challenge(s) facing young people in the region?
  2. Do you have a project, idea, or area of interest* you believe the Creative Spaces programme will help you to develop or realise? Don’t panic! We’re not looking for a fully thought-out project proposal or manifesto, we just want to know what your current interests are and how you see the Associates programme helping you to develop this. This may well change during the course of the programme.

Remember – Be honest. We want to know who you are and what you think this opportunity might be able to do for you. You don’t have to be a wordsmith or filmmaker, just be you!

Please submit your application by email to [email protected] (max file size of 10MB) with heading: Creative Spaces – Associate

DOWNLOAD THE FULL APPLICATION PACK HERE
CLEAR TEXT VERSION

It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too. Wherever you’re from, and whatever your background, we want to hear from you.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES MONITORING FORM

*Please note that this idea is just so we can understand the kind of areas you may be interested in and any projects you wish to pursue. This is not a final idea that you have to take forward.

Creative Spaces is a project for the under-30’s that supports the development of those seeking a career in / currently working in the creative industries or community engagement and encourages artistic responses to cultural issues that impact young people in Dumfries & Galloway. Find our more about Creative Spaces here.

Categories
News Opportunities

We’re Recruiting – NEW Board Members!

THE STOVE NETWORK BOARD:

We’re Recruiting New Board Members

The Stove Network’s Board is currently looking to appoint up to three new board members to replace trustees who have stepped down over the last year.

As both a network and a collective The Stove’s board has evolved to reflect the needs and aspirations of both our team and our 600+ membership.

In looking for new members to join our board, we expect that different candidates will bring a range of skills and experience to The Stove.

We are interested in hearing from people with skills or experience in creative or innovative ways of working who have experience in community development, people or organisational development, funding, or transnational working, particularly within the following fields:

  • Finance & Legal
  • HR & talent management
  • Heritage
  • Hospitality & Events

An understanding of meaningful collaboration, inclusive practice and partnership working also underpin our values. We are particularly keen to hear from people interested in inclusive ways of working in the community.

Planning Session at The Stove’s Away Day with The Board

About The Stove Network

We’re an award-winning arts and community focused collective based on the High Street in Dumfries. We use creativity in all its forms to bring together people and ideas, inspire and support new community-led projects, grow people, opportunities and celebrate our local people and places across the region.

We believe community and creativity are a gateway to help understand our world and empower us to make the changes necessary to support and grow the ideas and experiences we need to deliver a fairer future for all.

One look at the current programme and you will see truly innovative projects that tell you all you need to know about our culture, our mission, what we deliver and how we deliver it.

For more information or to apply:

The Stove Board meets four times a year plus an Annual General Meeting and a handful of subgroup meetings. It’s important our that Board members participate in the life of the organisation between board meetings, advising the team and acting in an ambassadorial role for The Stove Network.

If being part of a new way of working, engaging and making a difference is your thing, please get in touch for an exploratory chat by e-mailing [email protected] before Wednesday 1st March 2023

(Practitioners – please note that being a board member will not exclude you for applying for or undertaking paid work with The Stove)

Creative Spaces Showcase

March 31 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

An evening of celebration, networking and showcasing of Dumfries & Galloway’s young creatives.

Are you aged between 16-30 and interested in Creativity in Dumfries & Galloway? If so, this might just be for you!

Join Creative Spaces Producer, Mia Osborne and memebers of The Stove Team to discover how you can get involved in Creative Spaces 2023/24. 

On the night, you’ll hear from a variety of young, Dumfries & Galloway based creatives, about their practice and find out more about the Creative Spaces programme from the last cohort of Associates. 

The Creative Spaces class of 2022; Alice Griffin, Emma Forsyth & Morgan Love will present a reflection of the past year and showcase the personal projects they’ve worked on as part of their 10-month commission.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided on the night. Please contact us if you have any dietary requirements.

This event will be photographed, live-streamed & BSL interpreted to insure the event is as inclusive as possible. Please let us know of any access requirements by emiaing us at [email protected], calling on 01387 252 435 or sending us a message over our socials.

Doors open at 6.30pm & Event starts at 7pm.

*PLEASE NOTE*

As there are limited tickets to the Showcase, we are only offering tickets to those aged 16-30 and are living in Dumfries & Galloway. This is so we can ensure those considering a Creative Spaces 23/24 application are able to attend as we are not holding an information session this year. If you fall outside this bracket and would still love to come, please contact [email protected] and we can add you to our waiting list.

The Stove Cafe

100 High Street
Dumfries, DG1 2BJ United Kingdom
01387 252435
View Venue Website

Access Information:
Level Access in rear of building through adjacent close to left-hand side of the Cafe (facing the front of the building). 

To ensure your experience with us is as best as it can be, please do let us know if you have any specific access requirements and we’d be happy to help. Please us at: [email protected] or phone 01387 252435 and speak with one of our team. 

We are able to provide walk-throughs of the building before attending our events as well as assign seating before your arrival. 

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

February 13 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

You’re invited to attend The Annual Gathering (AGM) of The Stove Network!

Monday 13 February

Kicking off at 6pm and finishing at, approx., 8.00pm (with a break in between!)

The Stove Cafe (& Online via Zoom for those who can’t attend in-person)

Our AGM, or ‘Annual Gathering’, is a very special feature in our yearly calendar and one of our favourites, as it’s the moment when all the parts of The Stove, from our membership and core team to board members and those interested in finding out more, all come together to reflect on the past year and look to the future.

It is also a social event with the chance to catch up with folk connected with The Stove.  This is a key time for the organisation to connect with the community we serve, so we’d encourage everyone with even a passing interest in the work of The Stove Network to come along.

Our AGM is a friendly space offering a fascinating insight into how things work, find out what’s coming up and see how you can be involved in shaping our future direction.

Advanced registration is required via the links below – make sure you sign up before Wednesday 8 February, to allow us to cater for those attending in person and to arrange the list of attendees joining via Zoom (invite links for online participants will be sent prior to the event, along with the evenings agenda).

SIGN UP TO ATTEND IN-PERSON, HERE
SIGN UP TO ATTEND ONLINE, HERE

The Stove Cafe

100 High Street
Dumfries, DG1 2BJ United Kingdom
01387 252435
View Venue Website
Categories
Musings News

Let’s Talk Education

By Morgan Love

The Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) was implemented into the Scottish education sector in 2010, and to mark twenty-years since Scotland last held a national debate on the future of education, the Scottish Government invited groups of people to host conversations focused on the ways in which CfE has been successful, and to investigate what potential improvements can be made for the future.

The championing of education has been a pillar of my life from an early age. Having grown up with a grandparent who was unable to partake in primary education, due to a physical disability, it was sustained throughout my childhood that education is not only a tool that can be used to build a balanced and well-rounded life, but also a gift that should not be taken for granted.

It is for this reason that when the Let’s Talk Education* initiative was brought to my attention, I wanted to use it as an opportunity to gather together organisations working within the creative sector in Dumfries & Galloway, and begin to look at how how we can utilise our networks, skillsets and experience to make a difference in our region and pave the way for a new vision for Education.

Armed with official questions from the Scottish Government and a few topics of interest, I facilitated a discussion with a group made up of eleven practitioners from eight separate local organisations (alongside two educators), and embarked on a conversational journey that provided so much more than expected.

Initially, I set out to explore three topics that could be fed back to the Government, these were:

  • The barriers to accessing creative industries
  • The link between mental health and art
  • How we can aim to implement STEAM (science, technologies, engineering, arts, and maths) over STEM (science, technologies, engineering and maths).

While these three topics became the core of the conversation, the feedback from the participants and insight shared allowed the discussion to evolve, branching out and offering opportunities for further discussion on topics including; the limitation of time and resources for educators, exploring methods of teaching popular in Scandinavian countries, and how education and culture feed into one another.

The overriding takeaway I had from the discussion was that our town, and wider region, is filled with organisations and individuals who care passionately about the young people who live here and about supporting new ways of engaging with them and developing opportunities for them to express themselves through creativity.

My hope is that this conversation is just the beginning, highlighting what could be possible if likeminded people come together and talk about important issues such as accessibility and inclusion.

For me, by facilitating this event, it has become clear that continued involvement with established education providers is an important way for us to engage with young people, to showcase the possibilites and to role-model what is achievable when passion and devotion are at the heart of what you do.

Morgan is one of three Associates currently engaged in a 10-month commission through Creative Spaces at The Stove Network. Creative Spaces is a project for the under-30’s that supports the development of those seeking a career in / currently working in the creative industries or community engagement and encourages artistic responses to cultural issues that impact young people in Dumfries & Galloway. Find our more about Creative Spaces here.

*https://www.gov.scot/news/lets-talk-education/

OPEN HOOSE – Nith Life

February 28 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Part of our Open Hoose Programme and inspired by conservation initiatives across the country, a new group wants to question and explore what exactly a Conservation Trust for the River Nith might look like. This is the ideal opportunity for those passionate about protecting one of our most extraordinary natural assets to get together and look for solutions faced by our rive Nith.

The Stove Cafe will be open for pre-event food and drinks from 5.30pm, the event will start at 6pm sharp.

The Stove Cafe

100 High Street
Dumfries, DG1 2BJ United Kingdom
01387 252435
View Venue Website
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