The Stove is delighted to launch the Open Hoose once again.
After a successful pilot between January to March 2022, where we worked with our community to realise 10 new projects and events ran with, for, by and about Doonhamers.
Open Hoose is a project at the very heart of the Stove’s community venue work. Working with us, new (and established) community-led, grassroots projects are given the space, support, resource, and training to take even the most radical of ideas to the next level. From bread-making groups, to LGBTQIA spaces, Climate activism and creative writing, Open Hoose is a supported project, tailored exactly to fit the individual (or group’s) aims.
Working with the Stove’s creative, production, café and technical teams, new initiatives are trialled and developed through our community venue programme. We have been able to provide free meals and drinks service, technical support, creative development and partnerships to help give ambitious ideas the space, time, support and encouragement they need to develop.
It’s pretty vital to what we do. We believe wholeheartedly that our culture is nourished from the grassroots, not from the top down. That’s why our motto ‘Grow your own culture’ is intrinsic to just about everything we do here, and Open Hoose is at the core of this.
Absolutely! We want to hear from as many people as possible. So whether you’ve never been to a Stove event or consider yourself a true Stovie, it doesn’t matter. We’re interested in you, your idea and why this opportunity is right for you.
Can a group that’s already established apply?
Yes. It doesn’t have to be a new idea. Established groups that are already working are encouraged to apply. So whether you’d like to have your activity in the town centre or could do with some support to try out something new, we’re all ears.
How many projects will be taken forward?
We want to be as flexible as possible with the type of support we might be able to offer. With our current cohort, we have identified spaces within our monthly programme for new Open Hoose projects to be considered, but we’re also open to hearing ideas that may not require the space, from podcasts to street art.
How do you consider proposals?
We take a broad and open view of the type of project we’re able to support. Though some key considerations are worth bearing in mind before submitting:
How does the project seek to engage with the community?
Is there a cause or activist drive behind the idea?
How realistically to support something given our current capacity and resources.
Creative Spaces is an exciting collaborative project at The Stove which offers both paid and voluntary opportunities for the under 30s in Dumfries & Galloway.
The project brings together young creatives, from different disciplines, to facilitate an annual programme of events, activities and workshops, all designed to explore and develop artistic responses to cultural issues that impact young people in Dumfries & Galloway.
In May 2022 we were joined by 4 new members to The Stove team:
Mia Osborne as our Emerging Producer, Emma Forsyth, Morgan Love and Alice Griffin as our three Associate Artists for this year’s Creative Spaces programme. You can find out a bit more about each of our new teammates here.
We asked them a few questions so you could get to know them! Here’s what they had to say…
Q) What is your practice?
Mia – “I wouldn’t say I have one singular defined practice however, my skills lie in the production and facilitation of events and community engagement work. I hope to communicate these throughout the year as CS producer in order to aid the associates with the programming and delivery of meaningful community events.”
Alice – “I studied illustration at ECA and during my final year I started screen-printing, which I totally fell in love with. I like to make prints from found objects or textures which I combine with hand drawn and photographed elements, either digitally or by hand. I like to experiment with different printmaking techniques and my work is mostly a tool for me to explore social issues and connect with others.”
Emma – “My studies and knowledge are in theatre, and I feel I am still working out my practice! I love documentary drama and finding new fun ways to engage people in their own talented community.”
Morgan – “I don’t have a creative practice per se, my interest rather lies in the development of the local region and how the creative sector can contribute to it. I am also a Business student, specialising in Marketing, and I hope to utilise and develop the skills I am gaining in my degree and apply them to the Creative Spaces programme.”
Q) Where are you from? What draws you to D&G as a young creative?
Mia – “I grew up in rural D&G in a tiny wee village called Durisdeer. After leaving the area to go off to uni and circumstantially having to return, I was instantly drawn to a lot of the creative organisations in Dumfries because of the beneficial work they were doing for the community and it’s where I found I aligned best.”
Mia – “I grew up in rural D&G in a tiny wee village called Durisdeer. After leaving the area to go off to uni and circumstantially having to return, I was instantly drawn to a lot of the creative organisations in Dumfries because of the beneficial work they were doing for the community and it’s where I found I aligned best.”
Alice – “Originally I’m from Guildford, Surrey. I moved to Edinburgh in 2015, then to Dumfries in 2021. I moved down to Dumfries to join my partner. Aside from that I was looking forward to a slower pace of life and having more outside space. I had heard of The Stove before moving down but didn’t quite realise just how creative the region is.”
Emma – “I am originally from Dalbeattie, but moved up to Glasgow to study theatre. Even though I moved to the city to find opportunities in the arts, I resonate with all the work and projects down at home. The amount of good work getting created by talented people in D&G was what drew me back down.”
Morgan – “I am local to the area – I grew up in Lochside but have spent the last few years living close to the town centre. My main attraction to D&G stems from having a large root system in the local region, and I have a great passion surrounding the development of the town to become a place that is attractive and viable for young people. I believe that creativity in the region can act as a gateway to the retention of young people and hope that our cohort of Creative Spaces can begin to engage with young creative and build a lasting impact that entices young people.”
Q) What do you like to do outside of work?
Mia – “I love spending time with my family, partner & pals, specifically my wee niece. I get so much joy from exploring the countryside and swimming or paddle boarding when weather permits me to do so!”
Alice – “Most weekends I’ll be visiting friends or family, they are scattered up and down the UK so that takes some time. I’ve got two dogs, so I like to take them on walks and there are so many beautiful beaches nearby. I like gardening, we’re watching our first lot of potatoes and onions grow in our vegetable patch which is exciting. Lastly, I love food so I spend a lot of my time cooking and baking.”
Emma – “ love to cook when I have the chance! I also love to discover new craft beers, hit me up with recommendations.”
Morgan – “When I’m not working I like to work through my to-be-read/to-be-watched list, get out in the car and visit the Lake District or the Borders, spend time with my little sister, and combat burnout by taking ridiculously long naps!”
Q) What are you hoping to get out of Creative Spaces?
Mia – “I hope to make some great connections within the team & assist them through the CS programme. I can’t wait to showcase the work that we do to a wider audience across D&G in order to inspire young creatives across the region and promote D&G as a viable option for young creatives wanting to develop their practice.”
Alice – “I’m looking forward to planning and working on some exciting projects. I’m hoping to meet a network of other young creatives in the region. Also, I’d like to learn as much as I can about marketing and how to run a creative business.”
Emma – “I hope to help at least one young person to find a creative outlet in their hometown.”
Morgan – “Beyond hoping to develop the skills and interests I am coming into the programme with, as well as discovering some new ones, I have a keen interest in engaging with the wider region, hoping to incorporate the “G” in D&G as much as possible. I also hope to foster a link with the local schools to promote CS to local young people who are looking for a future in the creative sector.”
Sometimes it happens in the small scale: intimate interactions, one to one conversations, temporary actions; the testing out of ideas can happen in many forms and take on different guises.
The Stove’s public art practice roams between the two – scaling large productions for our annual festivals and events, creating spectacles such as The Tower of Light last December, but also taking a moment to mark the small changes in our calendar – welcoming the return of the swallows, re-visiting familiar spaces in the town, and occupying space for conversation and exploration.
Helen Walsh’s installation, Swoop! fell into this category. Following a call for ideas and artworks that explore or encourage a renewed awareness of seasonality and in response to our need to better adapt creative working in response to the needs of our environment and wider climate, Helen’s proposal invited participants and audiences to take the time – through construction of our felt flock to discovering them in situ – noticing our avian neighbours arrival, and signalling the transition towards the summer months. Working with volunteers and HNC students from Dumfries and Galloway College who contributed to ‘the swoop’ (collective noun for swallows, of course), the birds made their temporary appearance in the rafters of Dock Park’s Victorian bandstand at the weekend.
Welcoming the swallows opened up a wider conversation about how we open our doors here, to all from the seasonal return of transitory populations like the swallows, to tourists and visitors, New Scots and folk moving here for work, safety and inspiration. Our Migratory Routes trail mapped out routes in miniature around the park, inviting visitors to walk routes taken by visitors and residents from both current and historical lives in Dumfries.
We printed postcards to send out a welcome from Dumfries, chatting about icons and monuments that represent the town and the people we would like to welcome to the town. Small conversations to measure the undercurrents.
The bandstand stands witness to the comings and goings of the park, occupied occasionally by children playing games or looking for an impromptu ball game court, but predominantly standing empty – waiting for the start of a performance. The HNC students were also invited to imagine their own public art installations for the bandstand as part of the public module element of their coursework, and during a return visit they shared a dazzling collection of ideas, from community weaving projects, to projections, found object mobiles and light works – their proposals moved through similar scales of spectacle to intimate, personal experiences, inverting the space and exploring the edges of their practice and ambition. Inspiring stuff!
Public spaces like the bandstand hold incredible potential: as a platform, a soap box, a space of celebration, announcement, and declaration. As we enter the summer months our outdoor spaces come into their own, but who are the voices we should be hearing from these platforms?
Dandelion is a national creative community food growing initiative that is coming to Stranraer. It is part of the UK wide UnBoxed Festival; a UK wide celebration of creativity taking place in 2022. A new community garden, known as an Unexpected Garden, will be created on the harbour that brings together food, culture, ideas, and technology driven by the concept of sow, grow and share. There will be 12 unexpected gardens across Scotland including floating gardens in Falkirk and touring garden on the back of an HGV lorry in Caithness. At the heart of the project, we want to reconnect people with the food they eat, how it’s grown and show them that in the unlikeliest of places food can be grown. There will be a summer events programme which will culminate in a harvest festival in September – with the aim of re-establishing it as a cultural festival for the town.
Why we’re doing it?
Dandelion is committed to empowering young people, inspiring the creative sector and offers new opportunities for the Stranraer community – which is why we’re taking part. Working in partnership, Stranraer Development Trust and The Stove Network are proud to be part of this new initiative that’s going to get hundreds of people growing their own food across Scotland, with over 400 schools taking part and a new archive or stories about growing, gardening and the unique history and memories of the town and local traditions.
What have we planned?
Our Unexpected Garden will be a hive of activity over the summer with a range of volunteer opportunities, events, workshops, and our take on the Harvest Festival. The garden will be a fantastic opportunity for people to come and learn the basics of food growing, try their hand at gardening and become part of a vibrant community; we are looking forward to welcoming new and experienced gardeners (I include myself in the latter).
People will be able to attend our free events and workshop programme over the summer which will encompass talks, music, crafting, music, and art, as well as veggie and herb plug giveaways and vertical farms on tour. Find out more about our programme of events on our Facebook Page.
Process up until now?
Over the course of the past few months, I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to chat with members of the community to hear what they want to get from the garden and the types of activities they’d like to see there. The garden will be a community project that will continue to evolve over the summer, and I am looking forward to watching it grow as more people visit the garden and leave their mark on it.
Part of my own personal process has involved moving up to Scotland from a small town in Leicestershire and coordinating the build of a new community garden; two things I never imagined happening in my wildest dreams; a comforting reminder that you never know what’s around the corner. I’m sure the garden will continue to remind me of that.
We’ve been lucky to have the support of Northern Lighthouse Board and CalMac who are donating old nautical items including a 27ft lifeboat and 2 big colourful ocean buoys to the garden to help us create a garden fit for a seafarer. Burns Real Ale and Dumfries & Galloway Council have kindly allowed us the space to bring the project to Stranraer and Ulsterbus, who will be providing access to water for the garden have also kindly housed 25 tonnes of soil & mulch.
This past weekend, I found myself having lunch with a friend and a stranger. The friend, similarly to myself, is a filmmaker and facilitator of creative activities for young people in rural communities. The stranger, also a filmmaker and facilitator of both creative and career opportunities for young people, works in the South of Scotland, like my friend and myself (as I did up until recently).
The conversation over lunch meandered from our individual film practices, desires and influences, to creative opportunities for young people in the South of Scotland, and in rural Scotland more generally, to the role of arts organisations in tackling, or at least contributing to, the social issues that are so frequently found in rural spaces, and what responsibility art practitioners have to help.
Image by Rachel Shnapp
These are questions that, over the past year, have seeped into the conversations I have had with colleagues, mentors, and friends. Whilst programming events for young people, my team and I very quickly learned that the creative output really is not the goal of this work. What the goal is, though, is a very big question. More than that, it has hugely wide scoping answers. I’ll hazard a guess in saying that some of the aims are to create an environment for young people to explore their own creative practice, to experiment with the arts in various media, to have stimulating conversations with other people that may push the parameters of their perception of the world. But, of course, it’s a lot more than that. What some young people in rural communities lack is not simply the ability to create artworks, but safe spaces in which they can explore, grow and experiment. Where they can spend the long winter nights with friends out of the cold and the wind. Where they can be around people who will accept and support them for who they are, inclusive of any and all traits and qualities.
Of course, there is the need for young people to simply gather with others to creatively make and explore, but as it is said again and again, no art exists in a vacuum, nor does the creative facilitation that works on in the background behind the art. Young people also need all the things that society is not yet providing them with, and, whether it’s right or not, if some of that support comes from the creative community, then is that really such a bad thing? At least in that case, it’s coming from somewhere. Instead of shying away from the reality that arts organisations and practitioners have been and still are relied on to do developmental work, they should lean into it, finding organisational partners with the relevant expertise with whom they can mutually support each other to make change.
I was having lunch with my friend and a stranger, and once I’d left the café, I realised the conversation we had was one that, a year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to contribute to at all. I would have sat at the table shocked at these people’s’ knowledge of the rural art scene, the social issues being faced in rural Scotland, and their intersection. It’s easy to forget what we’ve learned once we’ve learned it. One year on since beginning Creative Spaces, I’ve learned more than I could have imagined about creative production, creative youth work, and the arts in rural spaces. I’ve learned more than I could have imagined about what it is to be a young person today in rural Scotland, independent of my own experience, and I’ve learned that being a creative practitioner (whether you identify as an artist or not), is rarely just about you and your work. As I said, we don’t create in a vacuum, we create in a world, a world that’s sadly riddled with social injustices. I think that if we can all play our part in seeing that world become a little bit safer for even a few people, then the world would be a better place altogether.
To me, good art is that which comes as close to the truth as possible.
It’s hard to ignore the truth when you’re looking right at it, and the truth is that Scotland, particularly its rural regions, have a lot of social issues that aren’t being addressed. I may not have a complete answer to the question I have posed, but I’m proud to be part of the conversation.
Wednesday, 23rd March 2022 marked two years since the first covid19 lockdown in the UK, a moment to reflect on the journey we have all made over the past two years, and the changes that have impacted all of our lives.
To mark this moment, The Stove hosted a series of events over the course of the week Charting Two Years of the Atlas Pandemica project. Atlas Pandemica took place from Summer 2020 to early 2021, and saw ten artists projects working with communities across Dumfries and Galloway and the direct impacts on them as a result of the pandemic.
The project culminated in the publication of a new Atlas, a series of Maps to a Kinder World, with each project contributing a map to help guide us in the next steps we all take. Atlas Pandemica also includes additional documents sharing future ambitions and research developed through the project, all of which can be found on our Atlas Pandemica webpage.
Our Charting Two Years events included:
The Cafe at the End of the World, hosted by Robbie Coleman, Jo Hodges and guest Joe Woods as part of the Distance: Proximity: Loss project.
Conversations were hosted around care and the work of unpaid carers hosted by Annie Wild and Emma Jayne Park.
A memorable guided walk around the Spring Fair was supported by TS Beall including a shot on the waltzers!
An official oak tree planting and writer’s readings afternoon at Dumfries Museum, featuring JoAnne McKay and Karen Campbell, with one of Karen’s stories inspiring the planting of an oak tree.
The Atlases have also been installed in the form of a temporary exhibition in the Dumfries & Galloway Council HQ building on English Street, and The Stove Cafe.
Alongside this, a limited number of print edition Atlas Pandemica’s are being gifted to influential and inspiring people up and down the country. We hope that the impact of the Atlas Pandemica project will continue to live on long after the conclusion of the individual activities.
