A celebration of D&G creativity and talent
Autumn 2023
Features:
Dawn Henderby
Hope London
Simon Hart
The Illustrated Freelancer’s Guide
Rhiannon Mudaliar
Hagen Patterson
Solway Firth Partnership - Creativity for Action
Old Mill Gallery
Summer Solstice
Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival
Forgandenny, R Mudaliar
This issue features a whole host of creatives from around the region, working in different areas, mediums, and practices. It’s been a joy to spend time speaking to these wonderful creatives, to visit their places of work, and to see the fruits of their labour.
On one of the warmest and sunniest days this summer, Maggie Broadley and I had the pleasure of visiting Gracefield Arts Centre where we spoke to Dawn Henderby who generously shared her passion for contemporary art and told us about her role. And I met Simon Hart, the recently appointed CEO of D&G Arts Festival. Nic Coombey has been doing creative things with plastic. We also feature Hope London and have a glimpse into her world of art music and activism. We meet emerging visual artist, Rhiannon Mudaliar who grew up in Sanquhar and now splits her time between D&G and Dundee. Hagen Patterson gives us a glimpse of the region’s vibrant music scene in D&G and shares his passion for music, and his work for DMC. And there’s more!
Grab a cuppa and dive in to meet the creative people who are members of DG Unlimited. We hope their stories and creativity inspire you and give you a glimpse into the wonderful things happening in this region.
Tabi
FOCUS on Curators - Dawn Henderby Gracefield Arts Centre.................................p4
FEATURING - Hope London performer, mentor......................................p10
FOCUS on LeadersCEO of D&G Arts Festival.........................p12
INTRODUCINGArtist, Filmmaker, and Poet.......................p14
FOCUS on MusicDMC..........................................................p20
FOCUS on Sustainable CreativitySolway Firth Partnership
FOCUS on Sustainable CreativityThe Old Mill Gallery
The Illustrated Freelancer’s Guide
3rd Editio
Tabi’s Recommended Reads books for creative minds and bookshelves..............................................p33
FOCUS on Health and WellbeingSolstice at Crawick Multiverse
Don’t Miss
Dawn Henderby giving us a Curator’s Tour of the Artist Rooms Diane Arbus exhibition, Gracefield Arts Centre
It was a pleasure to spend time with Dawn Henderby on one of the warmest days we had in May. The Diane Arbus exhibition had recently opened, and it was a joy to stroll around it with Dawn in the cool gallery while the heat rose outside. And as a bi-product of the interview, I was thrilled to have the chance to enjoy a personal curator’s guided tour of the Arbus exhibition, all while getting to know Dawn. Walking around the gallery with her, looking at the photography, talking about art and creativity - it was inspiring. Dumfries and Galloway is so fortunate to have such a knowledgeable, passionate, and dedicated long-standing curator, working with the whole team to care for our art collection as well as bring the finest examples of internationally significant art works to be exhibited in Gracefield Arts Centre.
Dawn Henderby is the Arts Officer for Dumfries and Galloway Council, Gracefield Arts Centre, in Dumfries. I asked her to tell me about her role.
“The fascinating thing about the role here has always been the mixture of exhibitions, local, national, and international, and working with Artist Rooms, (the contemporary art Collection held by the Tate and National Galleries of Scotland) has been a highlight for me as it ticks all those boxes. We (Gracefield Arts Centre) became an associate by application back in 2011 and our first show was Lithuanian-born, New York artist Vija Celmins. This was followed up in 2014 with Dan Flavin, another New York sculptor, it arrived in crates from the USA and when the show was packed up here, it was on display at Tate St Ives, before returning to Tate Modern.
The show that we are probably most proud of was the Sir Don McCullin in 2017, it was a stunning display of his photojournalism set along with exquisite landscape views of the Somerset Levels near his home. The work linked directly to the school curriculum through the studies of war poet Carol Ann Duffy so as a result, we had over 500 pupils see and engage with the photographs which had some pretty hard-hitting themes. Local-born young photographer Sam Finch worked with Higher photography students on a project ‘Self-expression’ which resulted in a book and series of prints which we accessioned into our collection. This summer’s Artist Rooms Diane Arbus was also a unique opportunity to see internationally significant work with this trail-blazing photographer
Our ‘home grown’ art collections are also a highlight, particularly the strong focus on Scottish painter Joan Eardley – Gracefield has over forty of her artworks in the collection, (with some on long term loan from the Walker family), and these have been shown here at Gracefield many times, the last time was 2021 to mark the centenary of the artist’s birth as part of a national programme of exhibitions hosted by many different venues, from the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow Museums to Perth Art Gallery. Our Eardleys are currently on loan until October to Kirkcudbright Galleries organised in association with our arts and museums colleagues in the west, and it’s great to see them on show locally again, with the addition of two stunning landscape paintings from the Royal Scottish Academy’s collection.
I was very proud to be instrumental in setting up and running the Archie Sutter Watt Trust Fund Archie (b.1915-d.2005) was a Galloway painter and teacher and following his wishes, after he died his nephews and friends set the Trust up to create a charitable fund that would support art, particularly for young people in the region. Over the years we’ve had selling exhibitions from his vast archive of work that raised over £50k to give in grant funding for school etching presses, teacher training projects and young artist bursaries through the UPLAND Emerge programme. We made a lovely full colour hardback book about Archie’s life and work, with an essay by distinguished author Christopher Andreae, and accessioned over 40 artworks into the Council’s permanent art collection, which have been shown at Gracefield and in Kirkcudbright Galleries.”
Joan Eardley Pat and Anne Samson, Pastel on paper (Gracefield Collection, courtesy of the Walker family) © DACS
Dawn Henderby
It is wonderful to learn that as well as caretaking the region’s collection, Dawn and the team are also helping to add to the collection. By being part of these projects, they have had the opportunity to be part of some incredible collaborations with artists and organisations from outside Dumfries and Galloway.
“Over the years I’ve worked with many different artists and artist organisations, local and national. The local ones are where you really build up a sense of community, such as with the volunteers that run Dumfries & Galloway Fine Art Society, Southwest Scotland Printmakers, the Textiles Triennial groups, Dumfries Camera Club and Access Art. Gracefield has been a part of Spring Fling since its inception back in 2002 with the annual taster exhibitions and special shows like last year’s 20-year celebration and it’s been great to watch it develop into a community interest company and be delivered by the UPLAND team, (whose offices are still based here at Gracefield), with the support of all their membership.
I’ve curated many solo shows too and stand out ones recently have been Thornhill artist Freda Blackwood and Silvy Weatherall from Irongray, near Dumfries which were a joy to work on and hugely popular with our audience. There are so many talented people working in the region but often their work is shown elsewhere, and we don’t get a sense of just how well regarded it is until it’s gathered up in one place, so we have a Sandy Robb retrospective and there will be a Minette Bell Macdonald solo on show in August/September this year.”
Archie Sutter Watt ‘Blue Landscape’ 1974 Oil on Canvas, Gracefield Collection © Archie Sutter Watt TrustGracefield Arts Centre is in many ways, an unsung hero amongst Dumfries and Galloway’s many outstanding galleries. Tell us more about Gracefield within the Scottish Art Exhibition landscape.
“Gracefield is part of the Scottish Touring Exhibition Consortium (STEC), with Highland, East Ayrshire, Scottish Borders Councils, and Fife Contemporary, and so far, we’ve worked together to stage eight major touring shows of contemporary art and craft that we shared in our own venues and hired-out nationally: a highlight of that programme was Glasgow artist Toby Paterson’s solo show as part of Generation Commonwealth Games Art programme in 2014. We also have a long-standing relationship with 20/21 Gallery in Lincolnshire, and they love bringing their touring programme here, shows such as the Lego Brick by Brick, and earlier this year, Jason Wilsher-Mills, and my personal favourite from them was Sparkle and Spin, Dundee artist Paola McClure’s fantastic fairytale sculptures.
We also collaborate with the Royal Scottish Academy on exhibitions. Showcasing the work of such an esteemed historic arts organisation here in Dumfries is an honour and a wonderful opportunity for our audience. It’s great to see Academicians’ work on show without having to travel too far. We’ve hosted ‘Ages of Wonder’ which was focused on printmaking and included two Rembrandt etchings alongside key Scottish artists, and we’ll be part of a national tour of the work of Sir William Gillies, RSA again in 2025.”
Dawn is a wonderful example of experience, talent, passion, and knowledge. You may have never met her, but if you have enjoyed any exhibition at Gracefield Arts Centre, you will have sampled the fruits of her labour. Gracefield is an unusual facility in that it is a gallery, a community space, and a shared resource for arts organisations and artists from all around the region and beyond. It’s a space where you can see internationally renowned art, free of charge, try a workshop, make friends, have a coffee, and enjoy art.
Make time in your schedule to visit Gracefield, and as you enjoy each exhibition, remember the Gracefield team behind the scenes, bringing beautiful things to Dumfries for us all to see. I mentioned to Dawn, just as we parted, that we are so lucky to have her at Gracefield.
Dawn shook her head, smiled, and said,
“Exhibitions are always brought together by lots of contributors, from the artists, curators, gallery technicians and front of house teams, but it’s the visitors and service users that make the whole thing worthwhile. Whatever you think you know about art, there will be something that engages you and hopefully stays with you – be that a photograph that makes you think about the horror of war or a joyful landscape painting you’d like to have on your wall at home – there will be something for everyone, and the aim of our D&G Council team here is to make that possible.”
Dawn Henderby, Gracefield Arts Centre, and the Gracefield team - treasures in the heart of Dumfries, and we would all be poorer without them.
To find out more about the exhibitions, workshops and events in Gracefield Arts Centre go to Dgculture.co.uk
Paola McClure ‘Over the Edge’ Sculpture © the artist
Hope is a well-known and much-loved artist and resident of Dumfries and Galloway. She describes herself as an artist in the broadest sense of the word, which is true given her talent for painting, dancing, singing, animation, mentoring, teaching, and community engagement -
“Art is how I make sense of the world. I draw, paint, photograph, write, perform, make murals, graphic novels, animation, videos, songs, soundscapes... whatever media an idea or project seems to demand. This is sometimes risky, but risk leads to discovery and growth. I often work in collaboration with communities and groups, researching, documenting, and re-inventing the stories of people and places. I have studios in Wigtown and Newmilns, for easy access to Glasgow.
Last October, my husband of 16 years was rushed to hospital with inoperable, terminal cancer and died suddenly at home, one month later. Overwhelmed by postdeath responsibilities, I became numb, barely experiencing the grief. I’d recently been accepted as an artist on the Upland Arts ROAM (West) project, exploring
contemporary rural art practice in West Dumfries & Galloway. Working with curator|artist Jack Tan, I’m investigating ways to integrate the range of media used in my practice, including drawing, painting, hand-made cut-out animation, installation, writing, graphic storytelling, video, sound, music, performance. Our group
were to create a pop-up exhibition at The Print Room in Wigtown and I had no idea what to do. One night, scrolling through photos, I found a video where he and I said, ‘I love you’. It became the basis of ‘In Passing’, a one-minute film presented as an audiovisual installation on a continuous loop, surrounded by dead flowers and
photographs. People responded emotionally, and it helped me process the unbearable sadness. The power to touch people and sometimes to transform lives is, for me, one of the most beautiful reasons for being an artist.
2021-22 was a year of intensive work on Creative Scotland|Culture Collective’s ‘What We Do Now’ project, for which I was commissioned, by The Stove Network in Dumfries, as Established Artist for Stranraer. Colleague Rory Laycock and I worked with people in the community, looking at key buildings and sites to re-imagine the development of the town. We created The Stranraer Colouring Book, printed 1000 copies for people to contribute more ideas. Based on responses, I wrote ‘What Could Happen Here
- a song for Stranraer’, made an initial recording with producer Dean Munch of Queer Theory, Glasgow, a frequent collaborator who introduced me to performing in the Glasgow cabaret scene. Dean and I added vocals, drums and guitar with local musicians and singers in Stranraer. I then worked with filmmaker Daniel Hughes to create a ‘What Could Happen Here’ music video. Dumfries & Galloway Council used the book and film in a community consultation to support the bid for Levelling Up funds and secured £8 million for re-development of the derelict George Hotel which is featured in the film. The George’s transformation will help re-vitalise the community. It was a huge thrill to see the video on the big screen recently as part of the selection for this year’s Alchemy Film Festival in Hawick.
In 2016 I made a mural, ‘If These Walls Could Talk’, for an artist residency at the Carlton Arms Hotel in Manhattan, telling the tale of a man who lived in a hotel room for twenty-five years painted on the walls, cupboard, and furniture in that very room. It was an absolute joy to return as an artist to New York, the hometown I left in 1979. I later wrote a song of the same name about the experience, performed, and filmed in 2021 at Mono Cafe in Glasgow for ‘Transcendence’, an online lockdown cabaret for Queer Theory (Glasgow) supported by Creative Scotland. I’ve just recorded the song with Ben Please and Beth Porter of The Bookshop Band and hope to release it by the end of 2023.
I have collaborated with so many organisations and individuals - The Stove, musician / producer Dean Cargill, filmmaker Daniel Hughes, The Bookshop Band, curator Jack Tan. Too many to mention.
Collaborations with communities and organisations have been equally profound, for example The Stranraer Millennium Centre and local people of Stranraer (What Could Happen Here); Upland Arts Development and LGBT Youth Scotland and the participating young people for Life Stories graphic novel projects. NHS D&G CAMHS and the young people for ‘Be Kind’, a mental health awareness animation project completed during lockdown.”
https://hopelondon.com/
Top left image: Hope recently did portraits for NHS staff and patients in DGRI as part of the launch of the DG Creative Wellbeing being led by Outpost Arts.
I am the director and CEO of the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival, based at the Gracefield Arts Centre in Dumfries.
I have been in post now for four months so there has not been so much time to create stand out moments. However, this year’s very successful festival enabled me to get to know many venues across the region which were new to me, meet so many dedicated promoters who are passionate about presenting live performing arts events for their communities, see a great deal of brilliant creative work provided by leading local and nationally-based artists and enjoy audiences’ enthusiastic and appreciative reactions, as well as experience one of Scotland’s most beautiful country sides in late Spring.
For the past thirty years Simon has enjoyed a busy, successful and varied career in the arts. A graduate of the University of Glasgow, the Royal College of Music and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Simon has worked as a classical singer, actor, musical director and singing teacher with leading UK cultural institutions such as Scottish Opera, Dundee Rep, the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, the Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, Bristol Old Vic, RADA and the universities of Queen Margaret, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Simon has also directed award-winning productions with his own theatre companies, as well as worked as a musical director.
Before joining Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre, on the island of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides, at the beginning of 2020 as its CEO, Simon was for many years the artistic director of Puppet Animation Scotland, championing puppetry, visual theatre and animation nationally and internationally primarily through the organisation’s two national festivals, the MANIPULATE Visual Theatre Festival and the Puppet Animation Festival.
Performances for all the family at the Crawick Multiverse.
Rhiannon is an emerging artist who was born and grew up in Dumfries and Galloway. An Honours graduate in Fine Art, here she tells us about herself, her inspirations locally, and her recent projects.
Full disclosure, although the name is a big clue! Rhiannon is the daughter of our Editor and Interim Director, Tabi Mudaliar. In each issue we feature an emerging artist who grew up in this region - a young creative who calls D&G home. We’re a creative region full of creative families! It is only fair that, despite having a Mum who leads DGU, Rhiannon also has the opportunity to showcase her work. We are delighted to include Rhiannon and introduce her to you.
I’m Rhiannon Mudaliar: Artist, filmmaker, event coordinator, lifelong curator, and professional troublemaker! People love a snappy phrase when it comes to describing an artistic practice, and the one I generally deploy is ‘socially engaged, documentative art-film, which seeks to amplify under-represented voices.’ I feel this is a bit clinical for what I’m making, honestly. Photography, poetry, moving image and collage are my mediums of choice. Primarily, I’m in the business of capturing and perpetuating joy.
I graduated from the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design this time last year, and I’ve spent the intervening time developing my creative network throughout Dundee and Tayside, where I maintain a workshop, and a small circle of regular collaborators. While Sun-dee is an absolutely happening city, it’s been important to me to retain my connection to Dumfries and Galloway, throughout my studies and into my career. Growing up around D&G’s creatives taught me art could not only be enriching and enjoyable on a personal level, but with hard work, a viable career path. My creative network in D&G has provided a level of stability to me as I’ve moved forward with my career, through commissions and freelance work, and the fantastic range of funding and support available for young creatives. From my first internship at CAMPLE LINE, working beside Tina Fiske and learning the invisible art of curation, to my time spent working front of house and running tours at Charles Jencks’ Crawick Multiverse, Dumfries and
Galloway’s rich culture of art and design has fed my hunger for beauty, and grown it tenfold.
I’d describe myself as being in the early stages of my careerbut a few years out of the gates, by virtue of being in a sector as engaging and fast-moving as the arts, I’ve already had some really exciting moments.
In 2020, I received my first major commission as a filmmaker. ‘The Full Picture’, a psychogeographical walk paired with two full length interviews with artists of colour based in Dundee, and a short experimental film featuring my reflective poetry, was the largest complete project I had embarked on. Though it feels like a long time ago now, at the time, it felt like my first big break, and remains a piece of work I’m very proud of.
In Summer 2021, I worked on my first feature film set, on location in Wigtown, for Stella (2023). This has been a bucket list entry for me since I was in primary school. However, what you don’t picture
when you’re little, dreaming of the great collaborative art of cinema, are the 6am starts, the 11pm finishes, the need for terrible coffee while longing for good coffee, and my word, the blisters! I served as assistant to the Producer (My fabulous mother, Tabitha Mudaliar) and was in charge of capturing behind the scenes photography and footage for the duration of the shoot, booking all of the production’s period vehicles, and day-to day onset problem solving. It was the hardest, most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I can’t wait to be on my next film set.
In December last year I had the incredible good fortune to be awarded the Creative Dundee Community Ideas Fund for my collaborative project, ‘The Dundee Guerilla Film Festival’. Once a month for the entire year, we meet, never in the same place twice, to share a featured artist’s body of work, screen a relevant film, and share our own personal creative work. Our role: to be facilitators, agitators, and creative instigators! Our remit: to challenge the ethics of copyright law, and encourage the production, dissemination, and celebration of art! The D.G.F.F. has opened a lot of doors for me - introducing me to new friends, wonderful creative and technical collaborators, and brilliant arts organisations doing cutting edge work all over Dundee and Tayside.
As for the present day, I’m busy developing my next major body of work. My degree show project, ‘Record This’, focused on the rituals of queer intimacy within my own friend group. Throughout it, I developed an interest in collage, particularly in reference to expression of gender and self. Now, I’m exploring the medium more fully, using typography and word choices from pre-existing sources, like phonebooks and sensationalist newspapers, and incorporating my own photography, poetry, found materials, and textiles. The working title is ‘Draw Around the Edges’. At the moment, that’s all I’m at liberty to share!
My love to the whole team at DG Unlimited, and thanks for the support they have given me as an art student and now as an emerging artist. There’s so much power to be found in creative collectives, and it’s organisations like this which have provided me the groundwork for a career I love, and a very beautiful life indeed.
If you’re a young creative, and you’ve got a hunger for the arts: let nothing stop you. Make the work! The rest will come in time.
You can follow Rhi and see more of here work atRhiannonMudaliar.com
CHURCHGOING
R. MUDALIAR - 3/5/23
Spiritus Sanctus, level the floors; Come shore up a place of worship for me. Hoist the rafters on those strong arms of yours, And make a steeple wide across As your body.
In this church, I will be Your Patron Saint of Getting Ready. Stretch the canvas, splay your fingers: A two part hymnal, me and thee. Sing along in holy gullsong; Pigment rich fallout
Powders the city.
The A85 mumbles ecstasies in her sleep, Exaltant kisses burning bitumen sweet Sorrows to ash; dust to dust. Cigarette sighs at the end of Mass And Second Comings
For everyone.
R. MUDALIAR - 29/1/23
After twenty-three years, This month I began To dream, at last, Of flight. A tickle of covers: My rough cotton sheets, Or the lick of white feathers Tracing your sides? Your sweet breath in sleep, or the beat of wide wings? Racing through blue, Harried by pink, We were the last Of the light in the sky. Your strength held true As we raced the past, Chasing the sun As slowly it swam From New Galloway To Tayside.
Poems: © R Mudaliar, 2023
Image: Jupiter, Rhiannon Mudaliar
Dumfries Music Collective is undergoing transformation. Formally Dumfries Music Conference, the organisation has built upon its previous year’s success showcasing new local music talent as well as bringing some fantastic names to Dumfries. One of DMC’s leading lights is Hagen Patterson who took some time out to tell me about his career, how it all started and plans for the immediate future.
DMC welcomes the legendary Donn Letts to Dumfries!
If you have never met Hagen, he is not hard to recognise. He’s the tall dude with the cowboy boots on. He’s friendly, and passionate about what he does. I had the pleasure of interviewing him recently and here’s what he had to say.
I’m Hagen, a creative without an artistic ability. Wait, does that make me an imposter? I fell into all of this by accident, it was never an intention of mine to build a career within the creative industries. Why, you ask? Because it never felt like an option!
It wasn’t until I was 25 years old that I found out what a creative career actually was. Michael Nicholson and Colin Tenant from Dumfries Music Collective (DMC) helped me get there. In 2018, I was granted a mentorship through the DMC Futures programme, and I have since been the Plaza Project Coordinator, Operations Manager and now, I am one of the Directors of the organisation.
In 2020, I started an artist management company, BIG RED. It’s a music management company
for the purest artist that the mainstream can neither support nor handle. It’s an honest place for those creatives that use art for art’s sake. My focus is to harden the need to create and release truthful music to help liberate a rather beige and imprisoned musical landscape. I rostered my first artist in an instant - a local rock n’ roll band called YABBA. It’s the best thing I ever did! I recently began working with another artist, Scotland’s rawest people’s poet, Steven Thomas.
As an artist manager, I have relished the rise of YABBA, and watched it with pride. They are the purest and hard-working artists I know – working class of course! Definitely, the most exciting act to emerge from Dumfries in living memory. We have been busy building a team over the course of this year, which has allowed them to tour extensively across the national and international grid. YABBA prove that music isn’t dead – check them out!
As a Director at DMC, I am most looking forward to re-shaping the organisation in certain areas. This year it’s about taking a few steps back in order to go forward. This is one big fight to achieve our aims, it will be hard work, and we’ll need everyone to be a part of it. We couldn’t have achieved so much already without our team, and our collaborators and partners.
DMC has a long list of local collaborators – many established, others that are relatively new. This year we are repurposing our energy by parking Dumfries Music Conference, for the time being, and concerting our efforts with an extensive awareness and engagement campaign across Dumfries & Galloway. DMC will deliver activity in Dumfries, Stranraer, Langholm, New Galloway and Sanquhar this year alone. We are so grateful to be collaborating with these communities and excited to be
working with the young people within them.
With this opportunity to be featured in DGU’s FOCUS magazine, allow me to stress how much DMC is about to lay a solid foundation for a brighter future for emerging musicians and creatives n D&G. Through our year long programme of talks, workshops, mentorships, live music, training sessions and development opportunities, we strive to educate, inspire, and empower Scotland’s next generation of creative rebel rousers. Watch this space! Read about DMC or follow them on Instagram here.
The Solway Firth Partnership works with partners on a wide variety of projects on both the English and Scottish side of the Solway Firth. Solway Firth Partnership is a charity that supports a vibrant and sustainable local economy while respecting, protecting and celebrating the distinctive character, heritage and natural features of the Solway Firth. Community engagement is at the heart of our work and the arts are one of the many ways we encourage people to be curious about the coast and raise awareness of issues facing the marine environment.
Solway Firth Partnership commissioned Alice Francis to create a sea monster on the shore near Auchencairn that was inspired by the issues of unsightly marine litter, particularly durable plastic. Constructed from a frame or skeleton of driftwood bound together with discarded rope, it was covered by plastic of all shapes and sizes collected by volunteers. Drilled, knotted, netted and fastened, the plastic took on monstrous proportions with a gaping mouth large enough to stand inside, and symbolised consumerism consumed. The power of the winter storms returned the creature from the depths back into a tangled strandline of debris. A beach clean by volunteers removed and sorted the plastic before it was sent to a recycling facility in Dumfries.
The Walking the Tide event was developed by Coleman & Hodges for Solway Firth Partnership and took place at Kippford when over 140 people joined the procession across the tidal causeway to Rough Island. The work aimed to explore the relationship between people, tides and the dynamic seascape. The procession with ‘wind catchers’ across the tidal causeway together with the voice piece on the island encouraged people to engage with their natural environment in an innovative way. The Drama group at Catstrand took part in a workshop to create a set piece of choreography for the event which provided an opportunity for people of all ages to work collectively towards a goal of creating a visually exciting experience.
Between 22nd August – 2nd September the Gracefield Arts Centre will host the Solway Hoard exhibition which portrays the possible future of plastic by displaying beach finds as if they are treasures in a museum set in the year 3023. Inspired by the Galloway Hoard exhibition, and teaming up with Waste Stories project led by Anna Wilson of the University of Glasgow, the Solway Hoard exhibition and accompanying booklet offers a fresh perspective on the future of synthetic plastics. The exhibition was curated by Museums of the FutureNow, a collaboration of Jo Hodges, Robbie Coleman and
Mike Bonaventura, who ran a series of community engaged participatory writing to create the stories behind each object on display. The speculative future conceived by Museums of the FutureNow explains the history of the Plastic Age that blossomed between 1950 and 2050. The exhibition and accompanying booklet reveals the story of plastic for 1,000 years in the future and is both entertaining and thought provoking.
The Solway Hoard from the Plastic Age exhibition is part of a wider Solway Firth Partnership project called More Positive Action for a
Cleaner Solway, which focusses on beach cleans and health & wellbeing. It is supported by the Scottish Government, through Marine Fund Scotland.
https://museumsofthefuturenow. org/the-solway-hoard/
https://wastestories.org.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/ solwayfirthpartnership
I am both a workshop facilitator and artist based at The Old Mill in Palnackie. Along with my partner Edward, I facilitate workshops in making art materials from ‘natural’ sources such as plants we have grown and foraged, and found objects such as stones and feathers. I almost exclusively use my own handmade art materials in my work, including the paper I work on which is made using recycled paper with the addition of plant material.
Recently we facilitated out first day long workshop on the plant Woad which I have been growing in our garden, this felt such a milestone for the amount we have learnt over the years of making our own art materials alongside the knowledge we have gained on specific plants, and woad being a particularly special plant to the heritage of colour in the UK and beyond.
We are also very passionate about the workshop series we facilitate called ‘Trysting Trees’, and in May 2022 I led the introduction to our
very first which was on the tree, Hawthorn. This involved sitting under a very special Hawthorn tree, still abundant with blossom in a local community woodland called Talesin, learning together with the participants, the magic that is found within the culture of this particular tree. We then went on to spend a whole weekend learning the folklore, medicine and social history of Hawthorn, as well as how to make a whole range of art materials from the gifts of this wonderful and abundant tree.
Finally what comes to mind is my first Spring Fling as an exhibiting artist this year. This gave me a chance to share and showcase all that I have been busy developing over the last few years at the mill. The sun shone, I was surrounded by the plants in my garden and spent the whole weekend enjoying the fruits of my creative labour with all the enthusiastic visitors.
Recently we have been working with Outpost Arts (Langholm) on their Art Journal project which has been an absolute delight. We did our first zoom workshop which was somewhat nerve wracking but which we are so glad to have done, and an in person workshop at Shambellie House where we got to share all that we do here at the mill with a very enthusiastic and creative bunch of lovely folks.
Since Leaders I have been beavering away with my partner Edward growing the creative side of our business. We now have a full summer program of workshops which we absolutely love doing, and are branching out to working with other organisations, being booked to take our skills in making art materials out of the mill and into other creative communities in the region. The mentoring I was lucky to receive during the Leaders Unlimited course, from Tina of Cample Line, Thornhill, gave me a much needed confidence boost, it was really helpful to hear the story
of Cample Line and to connect with an organisation I deeply admire. This mentoring came at a pivotal moment in whether I felt I had what it took to co-run our business, and the proof I guess is that we are still here and although it has it’s challenges, we absolutely love it!
The Old Mill Gallery is open Friday – Sunday, April – October, however
we are often in outside of these hours, to check if we will be in, text or call 07926 454829.
To see our program of workshops visit our website www.theoldmillpalnackie.com or join our mailing list by emailing theoldmillgallery@gmail.com
“The new updated 2023/2024 edition of The Illustrated Freelancers Guide by Heather Parry & Maria Stoian is available for download now! This publication is a lifesaver for any creative freelancer and is a highly recommended read by the DGU team!
‘This essential resource has been created to fill an information gap for creative freelancers to understand their rights and best practices in avoiding and addressing difficult situations.
An easy to reference guide, written by Heather Parry and illustrated by Maria Stoian, it uses a highly visual combination of comics and text to highlight key issues, model scenarios and educate creative workers about how to protect themselves with regards to payment, copyright and creative work in general.’
To download the complete publication, in a variety of formats, click here.
Free physical copies of The Illustrated Freelancers Guide will also be available to pick up from the following locations:
- Creative Dundee
- Out of The Blue
- Leith School of Art
- Edinburgh College of Art
- Scottish Poetry Library
- Dovecot Studios
- Tron Theatre
- Lyth Arts Centre
- Gaada
- DG Unlimited
We have requested a supply for DG Unlimited members and will share how they can be obtained on our e-bulletin.
Normally you have three reads, but in this issue, you have 7 reads to choose from!
At this year’s Wigtown Book Festival, I have the pleasure of chairing and interviewing 8 guest authors. As a result, my pile of books to read, which is always considerable, just got much taller.
Here are my reads – I figure if I am going to be reading them, you may enjoy reading some of them along with me.
The ‘dark and brilliant’ 2023 debut novel that uncovers the corruption of the Russian super-rich
“On a balmy evening in late March, an oligarch’s wife hosts a party on a superyacht moored in the Maldives. Tables cover the massive deck, adorned with orchids, champagne bottles, name cards of celebrities. This is what Kata has wanted for a long time: acceptance into the glittering world of high society. But there are those who aim to come between Kata and her goal, and they are closer to home than she could have imagined.
Exquisitely written and deliciously unreliable, Queen K takes the reader to some of the most luxurious places in the world. But a dark refrain sounds from the very beginning of the story and grows towards its operatic finale: a novel about insatiable material desire can only ever be a tragedy.”
A landmark book on the womb - its history, its present and the possibilities for its future - by the bestselling author of Hard Pushed: A Midwife’s Story
The womb is the most miraculous organ in the body - with the power to bring life or cause death; to yield joy or pain - yet most of us know almost nothing about it.
In this book, midwife and bestselling author Leah Hazard sets out on a journey to explore the rich past, complex present and dynamic future of the uterus. She speaks to the Californian doctor who believes women deserve a period-free life; walks in the footsteps of the Scottish woman whose Caesarean section changed childbirth forever; uncovers America’s long history of forced and coercive sterilisation; observes uterine transplant surgery in Sweden and takes a very personal dive into the world of ‘womb wellness’.
A dark and richly atmospheric thriller
“London, 1846.
Ramshackle and crumbling, St Saviour’s Infirmary awaits demolition. Within its stinking wards and cramped corridors, the doctors bicker and fight. Ambition, jealousy and hatred seethe beneath the veneer of professional courtesy.
Always an outsider, and with a secret of her own to hide, apothecary Jem Flockhart observes everything, but says nothing. And then six tiny coffins are uncovered, inside each a handful of dried flowers and a bundle of mouldering rags.
When Jem comes across these strange relics hidden inside the infirmary’s old chapel, her quest to understand their meaning prises open a long-forgotten past - with fatal consequences . . .”
Ceremonial murder has returned to Florence. Only two men can end the destruction. Featuring Officer Cesare Aldo, Ritual of Fire is an atmospheric historical thriller by D. V. Bishop, set in Renaissance Italy.
A night patrol finds a wealthy merchant hanged and set ablaze in the city’s main square. More than mere murder, this killing is intended to put the fear of God into Florence. Forty years earlier, puritanical monk Girolamo Savonarola was executed the same way. Does this new killing mean his fanatical disciples are reviving the monk’s regime of holy terror?
Cesare Aldo is busy hunting thieves in the Tuscan countryside, leaving Constable Carlo Strocchi to investigate the killing. When another merchant is burned alive in public, the rich start fleeing to their country estates. But the Tuscan hills can also be dangerous.
Growing religious fervour and a scorching heatwave drives the city ever closer to madness. Meanwhile, someone is stalking those powerful men who forged lifelong bonds in the dark days of Savonarola. Unless Aldo and Strocchi work together, all of Florence will be consumed by an inferno of death and destruction.”
Part travelogue, part history, and part reflective meditation on conflict and reconciliation, Sherry Buchanan’s new book offers both a personal and historical exploration of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, highlighting the critical role women militia and soldiers played in defending the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War.
Accompanied by two travelling companions, Buchanan winds her way from Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, in the south. Driving through the spectacular scenery of Vietnam and Laos, she encounters locations from the Truong Son mountains, the Phong Nha Caves, ancient citadels and Confucian temples to the Khmer Temple of Wat Phu at the western-most point of the Trail in Laos. Buchanan records her interactions―both scheduled and spontaneous― with those who experienced the Vietnam War firsthand, and these conversations with combatants and civilians provide new perspectives on the War. She listens to the women who defended the Trail roads against the greatest bombing campaign in modern times, walks through minefields with the demolition teams hunting for unexploded ordnance, and meets American veterans who have returned to Vietnam with an urge to “do something.”
Buchanan weaves informative, and often humorous, tales from her journey with excerpts from the accounts of others, situating the locations she visits in their historical and political context. On the Ho Chi Minh Trail brings together geography, history, and personal accounts to readdress the culture of indifference to the War, bringing to light the scale of the tragedy, its lasting legacies, and our memory of it.
The Funny Thing About Death is a hilarious memoir of two unconventional girls growing up in the 1970s.
Six years ago, Jo Caulfield was about to go on stage when she found out that her big sister Annie had cancer. Not the best way to start a nationwide comedy tour. But the tour turns out to be a welcome distraction for both sisters. As Jo reports back from various hotels and service stations, they revisit their childhood and adolescence while navigating Annie’s illness, learning through trial and error how to behave when someone you love gets sick.
The Funny Thing About Death is a hilarious memoir of two unconventional girls growing up in the 1970s. They didn’t fit in at the Air Force bases they were raised on or the strict convent boarding school they were sent to. The Air Force was obsessed with communists and the nuns were obsessed with the Virgin Mary, neither of which were of interest to Jo or Annie.
Annie was witty, spiky and greedy for life, rushing to be ‘interesting’ and experience adventures. She travelled the world and became a screenwriter and broadcaster. Jo was equally rebellious but didn’t have a plan. She just wanted to be interesting like her big sister and thought it might involve eyeliner, smoking and being in a band.
For the festival, I have the pleasure of reading Mairi’s new work, which has not been published as yet. But I can highly recommend this. It is the perfect compendium of feisty Scottish ladies to live your life by.
The last words in this book are for the countless women whose stories have gone unrecorded over the centuries. Fishwives and herring gutters, farm quines and dairy maids, coalhowkers and millworkers, knitters and sewers and weavers and washerwomen, cooks and cleaners, teachers and bank clerks and bus-drivers and shop assistants and administrators
and pharmacists and midwives and doctors and nurses; mothers, daughters, widows, lovers and friends in their millions. Their threads are the ground of our history, the warp and the weft of the fabric of Scotland. This book is for them.
In June this year, The Crawick Multiverse Trust partnered with The Open University to bring visitors and locals an extra special celebration of the Summer Solstice.
The celebrations occurred at Crawick Multiverse in Upper Nithsdale, an incredible art installation where guests can explore and roam the ground’s unique architecture. The grounds of Crawick Multiverse offer something for everyone, whether it is a leisurely stroll around the installations or a sincere experience of the fusion between art and science.
This year was special for the Summer Solstice celebrations, as The Crawick Multiverse Trust collaborated with The Open University, creating a fun-filled week-long programme combining art and entertainment with the wonders of science.
The first two days of the celebration were filled with various engaging and interactive talks about the science and energy involved with the natural event. The first day concluded with a fantastic seminar led by meteorologist and
former BBC weather presenter; Dr Heather Reid OBE.
The day of the solstice was full of ‘Celebrations, Learning and Wellbeing’ and began early at 4am, where visitors gathered to greet the emerging daybreak of the longest day of the year. The morning celebration of the solstice was led by the professional storyteller; Gordon MacLellan and OU colleagues in Religious Studies, Professor Graham Harvey and Luidmila Nikanorova.
Children from neighbouring primary schools participated in various inspiring events; A drumming workshop led by Mat Clements and an ethics workshop entitled: The Planet Problem: Only You Can Save The Galaxy led by OU lecturer; Suzi Collins.
A vast range of well-being workshops took place on the grounds of Crawick. Visitors were offered the relaxing and calming experience of participating in meditative practices, such as Yoga, Tai Chi and Qigong. Accompanying the well-being sessions were local dance and music groups providing a day of fantastic entertainment.
At 3.57pm, the time at which the sun reached its highest point of the year, everyone came together at the Sun Amphitheatre for the Tilt ceremony. The ceremony was led by Gordon MacLellan, Professor Stephen Peake and Professor Graham Harvey and supported by Luidmila Nikanorova and Mat Clements. The ceremony was also accompanied by school pupils who used their newfound skills to present visitors with an amazing drumming performance.
The final day was a relaxing and pleasant conclusion to the celebrations, where visitors were invited to a communal picnic at the Multiverse, where they could also attend A pop-up photo exhibition showing objects from ancient summer festivals.
The entertainment didn’t stop there, as the evening brought an incredible line-up of performances from local performers, some of which being; Young Burnsian of Scotland, Winners of the National Burns Competition, Sanquhar Community Choir and Sanquhar and District Silver Band. The festival ended with a beautiful outdoor performance from Classical Singer Claudia Wood and Scottish Classical Crossover Tenor Colin Thomas Bryce.
The Summer Solstice celebrations may be over this year as we’re heading into the winter months, but The Crawick Multiverse is not done with providing big days of entertainment!
Music at the Multiverse is back this year on the 2nd & 3rd of September. The music festival, held at Crawick Multiverse, will be headlined by massive acts such as; pop-rock band Scouting for Girls, multi-award winning Celtic trad-rockers Skerryvore, and Scottish rock legends Big Country!
Visit Crawick Multiverse’s website for more information: https://www.crawickmultiverse.co.uk/
The DG Creative Wellbeing Network is helping to coordinate Dumfries and Galloway’s contribution to the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2024.
Working in partnership with Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, NHS D&G Public Health, DGRI, The Crichton and RBC Film Theatre, DG Creative Wellbeing has worked hard to bring two exciting and important events to audiences.
DG Creative Wellbeing, led by Outpost Arts invites you to visit the ‘Keep Turning the Page’ exhibition of art works from the OutPost Arts, Art Journal Project, and to join them for a special screening of ‘Up the Middle Road: Stories of Resilience and Recovery’, a Q&A with a special guest panel including inspirational speakers from NHS D&G, the Crichton Trust, and Outpost Arts.
OutPost Art’s Creative Wellbeing Network will also be launching its ‘Creative Wellbeing Manifesto’ - the start of a year of creative consultations where together, we hope to build a wellbeing manifesto for D&G. Watch out for more info being shared soon about these specific events, and how you can take part.
We spoke to Lucy MacLeod, Creative Health & Wellbeing Director about the Art Journal Project and she shared how it all started.
“During lockdown in 2020, Outpost Arts delivered a small pilot ‘Art Journal Project’, funded by the Scottish Government Supporting Communities Fund. The ‘community well-being’ programme consisted of guided workshops, bespoke tuition, and specialist support from professional
artist tutors, aimed at adults struggling to manage stress or to ‘make space’ in order to achieve balance and well-being in their lives. The project targeted carers, key workers, people suffering from physical or mental health issues, people struggling with loneliness, isolation, grief, and trauma. The project culminated in an exhibition that showcased curated samples from participant’s art journals and larger scale pieces that graduates had worked towards by developing their skills via art journal workshops and feedback sessions. The exhibition featured as part of an open weekend linked to Spring Fling, and the response was overwhelmingly positive - both from visitors and participants.
To advance and galvanise Outpost Art’s creative wellbeing activity, we embarked upon a six-month research and development project to expand the project’s reach and scope the potential of a regional partnership network to advance creative wellbeing in D&G. In partnership with NHS Endowment Fund, Holywood Trust, and other strategic partners, OPA used the momentum gathered following the delivery of Art Journal Project to widen access points for participation and form a strong and effective creative social-prescribing model; building
relationships with partner organisations and creating clearer ‘next steps’ for people wanting to continue their creative well-being journeys.”
This powerful work continues and this year, as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, an exhibition of the works from the Art Journal Project, samples of work from the Art Journal Class of 2022/2023 is being exhibited at DGRI, entitled, “Keep Turning the Page”. The exhibition is open to the public, patients, and staff who can view works created by the Art Journallers.
The Art Journal Project is a key strand of the OutPost Arts’ community-based ‘DG Creative Wellbeing’ programme. OutPost Arts has developed the project with D&G Carers Centre, CAHMS, D&G College, Langholm Academy, and partner arts organisation For Enjoyment CIC, ensuring that participants are professionally safeguarded and supported.
45 young people and adults aged from 11 upwards, and from right across D&G, received a curated box of materials. Over a period of sixteen weeks participants worked with a range of artists and makers via inperson and remote workshops and creative research trips - exploring a wide range of visual arts practises
and processes including printmaking, clay, animation, illustration, markmaking, colour theory, zine-making and creative writing. The project’s activities are designed to enhance wellbeing via creative expression, mindful practise, positive distraction, and the development of self-management tools.
The ‘Keep Turning the Page’ exhibition sees the Art Journallers showcase their work and share their personal journeys with a wide audience, amplifying their voices and underlining the important relationship between creativity and mental health.
The exhibition is in Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary (Atrium & OPD corridor exhibition space), DGRI,
Cargenbridge, Dumfries. Running from 4th - 22nd October 2023 and is free to visit.
Open: If only visiting the exhibition, please attend 8am-6pm. The exhibition is viewable for patients, their visitors, and staff 24/7.
www.dgcreativewellbeing.co.uk & www.outpostarts.co.uk
Insta - @outpostarts
Facebook - @outpostart
Photo credits – © Outpost Arts
Dr Valentina Bold presents excerpts from Up the Middle Road: Crichton Stories of Resilience and Recovery, made by Mike Bolan. Up the Middle Road documents events held at the former Crichton Royal Asylum in 2022, directed by Valentina as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories. It shares the recorded experiences of former patients and staff of the Crichton Royal, through new songs and stories from Emily Smith, Jamie McClennan, Amanda Edmiston and Kathleen Cronie.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A and a participatory panel discussion exploring how creative retellings of experiences can heal and dispel the stigma around poor mental health.
Friday 20 October 2023, 2:00pm –3:30pm 12+
Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre, Mill Road, Dumfries DG2 7BE
Wheelchair accessible venue. BSL Interpretation
FREE, (Suggested donation £5 to support local mental health charities.)
Book Tickets here.
Event details for the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival in D&G can be found here
22nd September – 1st October 2023
Visit Wigtown book festival from the 22nd of September – 1st October to experience ‘one of the UK’s best-loved literary events.’
The programme this year has over 200 exciting events, varying from music, theatre, food and visual arts.
For more information and to book tickets, click the link below.
https://wigtownbookfestival.com/our-projects/ projects-overview
17th September – 18th September 2023
Visit The Old Mill Palnackie for a fantastic 2-day experimental workshop where you’ll be exploring naturally resourced paints and pigments.
“Would you like to experiment with the mysterious emergent qualities of plant inks or get a feel of the tactility of earth pigment paints?
If you’d like some guidance in this regard or some fresh ideas to making artwork then this is the course for you!”
For more information, and how to book, click the link below.
https://theoldmillpalnackie.com/new-events/2023/9/17/ expressive-techniques-bringing-natural-paints-andpigments-to-life
Eardley Explored: The Art of Joan Eardley with photography by Audrey Walker
17th June – 1st October 2023
Don’t miss your chance to see the Joan Eardley and Audrey Walker exhibition on display at Kirkcudbright Galleries!
“In conjunction with Gracefield Arts Centre, the Royal Scottish Academy and the Walker family, Kirkcudbright Galleries presents an exhibition exploring the life and works of Joan Eardley. Featuring original artworks, film and candid photographs by the artist’s friend, Lady Audrey Walker this is a unique view of one of Scotland’s most celebrated artists.”
For more information, click the link below.
https://www.kirkcudbrightgalleries.org.uk/event/ eardley-explored-the-art-of-joan-eardley-withphotography-by-audrey-walker/
1st March 2023 - 1st January 2024
Exhibition in Dumfries Museum
Open from March 2023 to January 2024
This exhibition explores the lives of women in Dumfries from c.1850-1950. This was the period when more women entered the public sphere and became engaged with key issues such as the campaign for women to vote (suffrage) and the Temperance Movement to limit or stop alcohol consumption.
August 12 @ 10:00 am - October 7 @ 5:00pm
A retrospective and new work from the Dumfries and Galloway painter. Known for his still-life and landscape work, Sandy spent many years as an art teacher in the region, and since his retirement has continued to create new works in oil, pastel and more recently, printmaking. The exhibition features many work borrowed back from collectors to show the scope of his practise, plus a selection of recent work available to purchase.
For up-to-date details of events in D&G go to the Midsteeple Box Office, DGCulture or Dumfries and Galloway! What’s Going On?
DG Unlimited’s vision is to shine a light on the excellence demonstrated within the creative and cultural sector in Dumfries and Galloway. We are the operational arm of the Dumfries and Galloway Chamber of the Arts. DGUnlimited.com
To become a member of DG Unlimited complete the form here
To contribute to FOCUS magazine, please email our FOCUS editor, Tabi Mudaliar at comms.dgu@gmail.com
With thanks to:
Creative Scotland, Dumfries & Galloway Council, and The Holywood Trust
DG Unlimited would like to thank all the contributors and everyone who has contributed to the making of this magazine. And, to extend our gratitude to Dumfries and Galloway’s creative community for helping to make our region such a vibrant, culturally active, and creative place.
Design: artibrand.co.uk
