Nithraid was concieved as a public artwork to activate the riverside in Dumfries in the summer of 2013, and bring new focus and people down to celebrate the Nith. Now in it’s third year Dumfries is preparing to welcome sailors up river to the heart of the town when Nithraid 2015 will sail into town on Sunday, 2nd of August. Nithraid is free and open to all to attend, and last year saw crowds of 4,000 lining the banks to watch the winning boats cross the finish line. Find out more about this years Nithraid here
The discussion is open, and we invite contributions to our artistic conversations – whether you have been involved in Nithraid in previous years, are interested in the changing face of public art and when a sailing race is also an artwork, please get in touch via the comments box below or to send your contribution please email [email protected]
this is what i’m thinking… that we must not lose the deep meaning of nithraid… for after all, we sweated blood to get this far…we must affirm nithraid in the flow of world art with every action… that is our responsibility to art and people.
the main point is of course to show dumfries to the wide world as a place where things are happening. but if we are to show the art world that socially engaged public art is THE way to go, then we must show them that we have resolved the problem of the redundant art object.
here it is… the cow… the cow delivery system… the nith… the we the people… the thing of things!
what are we saying?
we are saying that this cow thing is alive and well and living in dumfries!
it was once a linguistic object – but here and now it is a liberated thing!
the reason it’s liberated is because we gave the art object the voice of a thing, and that thing is everything!
the dumfries nithraid cow is the THING of our imagining.
it is what we are and always were.
we are the nithraid thing.
nithraid is the liberating of the object once known as ‘cow’.
first we cover it in salt because salt imbues and confirms the cow as once-an-object standing in reserve of our existence (for our use as required).
but then, as the cow sinks into the river nith, we the people sing a mooing song… moo.. moo… moo…
the salt is washed away to reveal the new precious thing in the context of things.
and this act deconstructs and disrupts the limitations of our own object-centric thinking.
stan
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Nithraid was concieved as a public artwork to activate the riverside in Dumfries in the summer of 2013, and bring new focus and people down to celebrate the Nith. Now in it’s third year Dumfries is preparing to welcome sailors up river to the heart of the town when Nithraid 2015 will sail into town on Sunday, 2nd of August. Nithraid is free and open to all to attend, and last year saw crowds of 4,000 lining the banks to watch the winning boats cross the finish line. Find out more about this years Nithraid here
The discussion is open, and we invite contributions to our artistic conversations – whether you have been involved in Nithraid in previous years, are interested in the changing face of public art and when a sailing race is also an artwork, please get in touch via the comments box below or to send your contribution please email [email protected]
A Public Celebration of the River Nith in Dumfries
September 2014 saw the second running of The Stove Network’s Nithraid. The project has two elements a) ‘dangerous sailing race’ from Solway Firth up the Nith into the centre of Dumfries and b)artworks and interpretative works that invite the public to discover anew the river and the spaces around it while they wait for the boats to arrive.
The stunning weather was a mixed blessing as the sailors ended up having to heroically row or paddle most of the 14 miles upriver. Nithraid organisers apologise for the previous incorrect posting of the results of the 2014 Nithraid. They should read:
Position
Name
Boat type
Cargo
Time
1
Roger Blamire
Wayfarer
Tobacco
02:40:50
2
David Sleggs
GP14
Wine
02:59:39
The 2014 event should be remembered as extraordinary, not least for the dogged determination of the two crews who persevered to the finish in completely calm weather. Both teams refused assistance and rowed the entire course in the sweltering heat to an heroic finish. All other entrants disqualified themselves in accepting outside or mechanical assistance but distinguish themselves for their efforts under a fierce sun. Other participants include:
Position
Name
Boat type
Cargo
Time
n/a
Jim White
Cornish Crabber
Tea
02:42:21
n/a
Crawford Johnstone
Enterprise
Cinnamon
02:47:27
n/a
Frank Birkett
Mirror
Timber
02:55:19
n/a
KKBT Sea Cadets
Gull
Chocolate
03:00:17
n/a
Mark Zygadlo
Wayfarer
Lemon
03:01:39
n/a
Steve Cochrane
Hobby 405
Salt
03:02:58
n/a
Helen McConnel
Mirror
Sugar
03:09:30
n/a
Ross Mcglennon
Enterprise
Slate
03:10:37
n/a
Alex Rigg
GP14
Coal
03:11:06
Encouraged by the success of the first staging of Nithraid, The Stove Network upped the scale of things for 2014. The ‘Salty Coo’ made a re-appearance with a new salty coat, and was paraded through the streets with a specially assembled Balkan Street Carnival Band and newly commissioned music from local musician Ruth Morris. The car parks beside the river were transformed by an eclectic street market, a scale model of the river with model boats charting the race, skateboarders, BMXers and rollerskaters. Visitors were also offered the chance to make their own Nithraid pewter button and these were cast on site with our bicycle powered foundry – designed and operated by Stove members Katie Anderson and Uula Jero. Also The Stove’s ‘Herald’ Moxie DePaulitte was in attendance with different groups she had been working with and all the background on the ‘why?what?where?who?’ of the Nithraid.
The ‘Salty Coo’ was hoisted aloft on a specially design ‘Coo Delivery Mechanism’ (designed and made by member Mark Zygadlo) and as the boats arrived they deposited their ‘art cargo’ onto the CDM. Josh from the winning boat was given the honour of lowering the Salty Coo and releasing it into the Nith.
Nithraid takes place on the highest tide around the Autumnal Equinox as this ensures sufficient depth of water for the boats to navigate the river. The salt on the Coo celebrates the highest point that salt water comes up the river at high tide (to the Caul below Devorgilla Bridge) and the Coo itself is released into the river at the spot where livestock traditionally forded the river in crossing between Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire.
People lined the Nith up the entire route with 300 at Glencaple and over 4000 in Dock Park, Mill Green and the Whitesands, all enjoying the carnival atmosphere and activities. The feedback has been incredibly positive with people unanimous about the potential of the riverside areas in Dumfries to become a major public meeting space and attraction for the town. Nithraid is part of The Stove Network’s ongoing project to actively engage people in the future of their town by staging events in underused public spaces and encouraging the idea that ‘Dumfries is what we all make together’
