FOCUS Winter 2023

A celebration of D&G creativity and talent

Winter 2023 Features: Traditions of Warmth & Light Kathleen Hart Katie J Anderson Andy Stewart An Artful Migration Davey Payne Mostly Ghostly Sarah Thomas Kim Ayres

Forgandenny, R Mudaliar

Welcome to our Winter edition and while the weather is firmly stuck at the cold end of the thermometer, there is warmth and light inside this issue of FOCUS. Cosy up and enjoy our latest showcase of creativity from around Dumfries and Galloway. It has been lovely reading all the Festive Traditions contributed by our creative friends from around the region, and as always, I have had the pleasure of connecting with our contributors, hearing their news, and seeing the results of their creative endeavours. We catch up with Andy Stewart, Producer for the Wigtown Festival Company and thanks to UPLAND, Leeming + Paterson, and a whole host of partners and feathered friends, we see the beauty of an Artful Migration.

Kathleen Hart, Author, and friend of DG Unlimited has written us a seasonal short fiction; emerging Poet Davey Payne shares brand new poems with us, and Author Sarah Thomas brings us A Shared Light and a glimpse of her Nordic journey. Kim Ayres and Katie J Anderson share their work with us, and Mostly Ghostly, The DG Life Awards Culture Champions give us a glimpse of their busy winter. We have a selection of creative recommended reads for you, and dates for your diary right through into early 2024.

At this time of year, we tend to feel tired, and it can get noisy and feel stressful at times. It can seem like the season of dark cold nights, catching colds, and not enough time! But there is always time – time for you, for a breather, a chance to reflect, to enjoy a warm cuppa, and to engage in something creative. Start with enjoying this issue.

Wishing you all warmth, light, enjoying this time of year in the way you and yours like to. From all of us here at DG Unlimited, to all of you.

Tabi

Tabi Mudaliar, Editor of FOCUS Magazine and Director DG Unlimited.

Artful Migration Photo by Colin Hattersley FOCUS is a creative digital magazine brought to you by DG Unlimited. FOCUS is free to access and download from dgunlimited.com.

It is published to shine a light on the creative and cultural work, activities, and projects in Dumfries and Galloway.

FOCUS magazine is brought to you as a result of the generous support of Dumfries and Galloway Council.

2

4 Traditions of Warmth & Light ................................................p4 FOCUS on Kathleen Hart, Author.......................................p10 FOCUS on Katie J Anderson, Artist....................................p14 FOCUS on Andy Stewart, Producer ...................................p18

10

An Artful Migration (4 pages)..............................................p22 FOCUS on Emerging Artists – Davey Payne, Poet ............p26 Culture Champions – Mostly Ghostly..................................p28 FOCUS on Sarah Thomas, Author .....................................p32

14

FOCUS on Kim Ayres, Photographer .................................p36 Tabi’s Recommended Reads..............................................p42 Dates for your Diary............................................................p44

26 18 22

36 32

28

44

46

3

Traditions of Warmth and Light 2023 has been another difficult year, at home and overseas. In the most recent months, the news has been increasingly distressing.

Human displacement caused by climate emergencies, the devastation and destructive results of war, the hunger and poverty of too many, and the harsh realities and consequences of hostile policies from our global leaders – all this can so easily build feelings of fear and hopelessness and make any sort of festive activity feel almost futile.

However, for our own wellbeing and that of our loved ones, particularly our younger and older generations, this time of year can give us time to rest, reflect, and spend time with those we love or if we choose, to retreat to our own private solitary spaces.

This year, whether on your own or with company, please consider embracing and trying the warmth and light of wellbeing which comes from engaging in a creative activity. It doesn’t need to be expensive, difficult, or perfect – whatever perfect is!

As our seasonal gift to you, the DG Unlimited team, and friends from around the region have shared some of the creative and festive traditions they enjoy during this time of year. Whatever you choose to do, we all wish you warmth and light now and for the coming year.

Tabi, the DG Unlimited Team, and our dear creative friends around the region.

Peter Renwick, Creative Director - CatStrand Arts Something I always value in the run up to Christmas, is a good winter concert which speaks of the seasons changing and our human response to the darkening nights, and it provides an opportunity for folks to come together at this time of year. This year I’m very much looking forward to Robyn Stapleton’s Songs of Winter, Song Wave Choir’s Under a Star Filled Night and Whirligig’s Midwinter Ceilidh.

4

Heather Parry, Author I’ve started to pinch a tradition from Italy: that of the Christmas biscuit box.

Close to Christmas my partner and I have a day of biscuit production in the kitchen. We make five different types - always a biscotti, something gingery, something light, something heavily spiced - and fill cardboard cake boxes with two or three of each type. These go to our neighbours, family, friends— everyone we love. The biscotti in particular is perfect for keeping for that first quiet morning coffee after the Christmas madness is settled, hopefully as a reminder that even as the busy period passes, you are still loved!

Hope London, Artist Eight nights of warmth and light with one more candle lit each night. Along with potato pancakes (latkes), jelly doughnuts (sufganiot) and most of all, gratitude for miracles.

Kate Goodall, DG Life Kate kindly shared three of her family’s special traditions with us…

There is a red paper star that hangs in our kitchen window, in same place every year. It was my Mamie’s (Grandmother) and was given to her when she was a baby. Mamie passed away in 2006 aged 83 so her star is 100 years old this year.

And with the youngest generation of our family in mind, at 6pm on Christmas Eve, we go out on the doorstep with our son Harry and sing Jingle Bells whilst shaking sleighbells, to let Santa know where we are. Harry loves it! This started during Lockdown, inspired by a Facebook Group called the Worldwide Christmas Jingle, as a way to bring people across the world together during a tough Christmas. We’ve followed this tradition every year since and will continue to do so.

We used to wait until the first weekend of December to put our decorations up, but last year we stated putting them up early and we will be doing it every year from now on. Our decorations go up on the weekend of, or just after the 24th of November. My birthday is the 23rd and we lost our eldest son, Jacob, on the 24th of November at 4 months old. As a joyful act of remembrance, and to give Harry joy and encourage him not to think of that date as a sad one, we celebrate our family, we celebrate Jacob being part of our family, and although there is obvious sadness, we channel it into spending special time together.

Although Harry never met Jacob, and Jacob never had a Christmas, this tradition done around this date makes us that Jacob is with us, helping us get ready for the festive season.

5

Fiona MacNeill, ConsultantCreative Leadership, Fiona MacNeill Consultancy Homemade cream of cucumber soup and cheese pastry twists!

Yvonne Barber, Community Arts Centre Manager, A the Airts One of my festive traditions now relates to the Airts. On Christmas Day, myself and a group of staff and volunteers arrive at the Airts and cook a Christmas lunch for community members who would otherwise have been on their own.

We have done this for the past five years and it has become a meaningful tradition for me and my friends and colleagues who help. To be with a group of people who come together on Christmas day brings back the real feeling of what Christmas is all about. And most importantly, it means that people are not on their own on Christmas day.

And my tradition at home is, me and my husband always watch It’s a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve, cottage pie and red cabbage and a glass of vino!

6

Barbara Chalmers, Creative Stranraer and former DG Unlimited Trustee.

As a Humanist, for the past few years I haven’t marked Christmas at all. I do what I love to do every day… maybe swim if the wind’s not too crazy, go walking, tuck into a grassy bank with a flask of coffee, watch the birds, the grass dancing in the breeze, the clouds scudding. Take pictures. Breathe. Relish nature. Be thankful for all this abundance. Happy winter solstice all.

Lucy Lee, Artist and Gallery Owner, The Old Mill Gallery, Palnackie.

Nearly every year Edward paints a new Christmas card which we get printed and send to all our friends and family. I love to do a window display at our home which changes each year but always includes lots of warm lights and beautiful hangy things.

Helen Turner, Holywood Trust Two years ago, I started a tradition of making cone Christmas trees out of willow and string and hanging small bags on it with pegs containing a puzzle and sweet for each of our family units. The grandchildren love it, the adults love the sweets!

Stephen Lacey, Former DG Unlimited Chair Our first tradition concerns my late mother-in-law, Peggy Bate. She was an extraordinary woman, the mother of 12 children, a primary school teacher, and one of the first graduates of the Open University. For quite a few years, until she moved away, she wrote a Christmas story for her grandchildren, and read it to as many of them as could be mustered on Christmas Eve. The stories would often make oblique reference to a particular grandchild, or children, and working out who featured was very much part of the magic of the occasion.

The second is a tradition we still observe. We always lay a place at the Christmas table for unexpected visitors, the stranger who might appear at the door. So far, there have been none, but who knows?

7

Kim Ayres, Artist, Photographer A Christmas tradition in our house is bramble ice cream. Every autumn, my daughter and I will go on the annual “Great Bramble Hunt” to fill our tubs with blackberries. My wife will then keep a pound or so in the freezer ready to make bramble ice cream for the festive season. Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without it!

Derek Crichton, Director, Communities, DGC On Christmas Eve we enjoy going out for a family meal together followed by playing a new board game which we will have purchased for the Christmas holidays. It is amazing how much fun we can still have when we are all in the same room taking part in a new game.

Doug, Hannah and family, Fitch & McAndrew, Ceramicists Everyone had to make a gift for someone in the family using only stuff in the house. Highlight was my daughter’s bee related artwork that she made for her bee-keeping mum!

It’s become something of a Christmas tradition with us that the children make a myriad of small sgraffito tiles which we turn into brooches and magnets. They then use a part of our stall at Corsock Christmas Craft Fair and sell their wares to raise money for Stepping Stones, the foodbank in Castle Douglas. Last year they raised over £700. We took them to the supermarket where they bought trolleys full of food of gifts as suggested by the staff at the foodbank. It’s following in the footsteps of Doug’s father who started a soup run and then a day centre for the homeless in Bedford years ago.

In the photos are our children, both decorating their tiles.

Photos by James Hazlewood

8

David Wright, Financial Administrator, DG Unlimited My Christmas traditions involve being outside in our fantastic countryside and eating – my two favourite pastimes. On Christmas morning I get up really early, I mean really early, when not a creature or human is stirring anywhere, and the sun is only just up. I get my gear on, and I go up the hill on my mountain bike. I am so fortunate to live in the Southern Uplands. My favourite routes takes me up to the top of the Euchan River and beyond, and when I get to the top, I have a favourite rock I sit on to rest and look down the valley at home and the view beyond. Then it’s back down the hill and home for my next favourite tradition – homemade cinnamon rolls made by my wife. There’s nothing better than coming in from the cold into the warmth and being surrounded by the smell of cinnamon and baking. As a family we enjoy a Christmas Day walk before the light goes. It’s good to get some fresh air after the feasting! Our favourite place to walk is the Crawick Multiverse.

Tabi Mudaliar, Director, DG Unlimited Our wee family lights a candle for my dear Dad on Christmas Day. During the week, I make Gulab Jamons, a devilishly delicious Indian dessert, to remember my Mum. There is always a stocking hung from my Mum and Dad, and in it are gifts from them to the whole family. One year it was a beautiful oil lamp, another year books o read, and games for us to play.

My Christmas table is a heady blend of traditional Scottish Christmas grub and spicy festive Indian dishes, just like my family!

And finally, a tradition which started around five years ago when I began presenting on the radio, is my Christmas playlist. I send it to family, friends, and colleagues to enjoy throughout the holiday.

Here, for you, is my Christmas Playlist, with my love. Enjoy! https://open.spotify.com/ playlist/1sjGgjT56ZZhv4Vmw3raY1?si=3433ccc650f644aa

9

Kathleen Hart, Author My name is Kathleen Hart and it is such a pleasure to be part of the winter edition of Dumfries and Galloway Unlimited’s FOCUS magazine. I live in Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town, where amongst other things, I’m an author, Art facilitator, and Instagram aficionado.

Galloway is the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to writing, a kingdom in miniature, crammed full with waterfalls, forests, starry skies and deserted beaches.

We have an astonishing depth and breadth of culture and heritage too, with magical stone circles thousands of years old, ruined castles and a diversity of wee towns and villages, all with their own distinct characters and idiosyncrasies. You might think that with all of this as inspiration, books would write themselves, and they probably would, if I didn’t have an Olympic medal in procrastination. There is a constant struggle between my writing practice and this ‘thief of time’, but once the distractions are quashed and the pen flows there is no feeling like it. I write in longhand, using vintage fountain pens and a variety of ink colours. This is rather a challenge, being left handed, it can get quite messy, and I sometimes wonder whether the small fortune spent on artisan journals is worth it. I’d like to say I write each day sitting in the Bird Room of the County Building in Wigtown, however, more often than not, I write in bed (if it’s good enough for Mark Twain and Marcel Proust, it’s good enough for me), where it’s warm and snug in the early hours when creativity is at its peak.

I am currently finishing off the sequel to Devorgilla Days, (published May 2021 by Hodder & Stoughton) a memoir of hope and healing about moving to Scotland.

The follow on book will feature some of the familiar characters and places that were so dear to me when I arrived in Galloway, and will focus on life, love and loss after lockdown. There is also a cozy cottagecore romance trilogy in the offing where I am dipping my toe into the world of fiction, and seeing Jilly Cooper back in the limelight recently, I have an idea brewing on the backburner which will hopefully give the Rutshire Chronicles a run for their money.

10

11

The new year will be a busy time, planning for our third MaD Festival of Creativity. The 2024 Making and Doing Festival will have the theme of Makefulness.

Myself and fellow creative coordinator, Becki Castle (Business Development Manager of the South Machars Community Centre, Whithorn) are thrilled by the success and popularity of this fledgling festival, where a plethora of creative practitioners from across the region come together under one roof to showcase their talents in a series of workshops and demonstrations. Blacksmithing, bookbinding and yarn spinning were just a few of the sell out events from the 2023 festival. We were so excited to host ITV Border Life at the drystane dyking workshop and have big plans and an expansive vision moving forward.

MaD Festival of Creativity

12

Watch this space for news of the programme, and also for details of the ‘Instagram for Creatives Workshops’ I will be running throughout the year. As @Poshpedlar on Instagram with over 100,000 followers, I am keen to share my knowledge mentoring others on the benefits of social media in how to promote and share creative practice and reach greater audiences. I am hoping there will also be room for one or two creative writing workshops. I learn as much as I teach when meeting others with a passion for the written word.

It is humbling and always an honour to meet other writers and in particular readers of Devorgilla Days, who are in touch regularly sharing their own healing journeys with me. And on that note, I’m off to sharpen my pencil.

A flash fiction by Kathleen Hart Ad Lucem Looking up and through a flurry of swirling soft flakes, sifting down, shaken from a magic sieve, she sighed as the gentle white stars settled on her skin, her hair, her open palms. Her heart full, she peered across the shimmering snow garden to the golden glow beaming from the window of her wee cottage.

Tree lit, candles lit, fire lit.

Warm and welcoming within, her family gathered around the square table, laughing, jostling for the missing piece of jigsaw they are all huddled around. There are crystal glasses of home made egg nog, a silver tray piled high with mince pies, and sitting proud on her mother’s chenille velvet cloth, an antique bowl of plump clementines, studded with fragrant cloves. Paper chains and tinsel are festooned above and pine cones and mistletoe crowd the mantlepiece, the traditions and rituals remembered.

Well done, she nods, well done.

And breath exhales, a dragon cloud of moist air into a now starlit night.

Moon shadows branch across the white smothered orchard and smoke ribbons from the chimney, a sweet chestnut scent, or perhaps, just maybe, cherry wood drifts down the valley.

Crunch across the lawn.

Opens the gate, creak, click of the latch, and admires the hanging wreath of holly and ivy, there is no beginning, and there is no end. She reaches into her pocket and takes out a posy of rowan and rosemary and, fingers trembling, tucks it into the foliage. A last glance back, steamed up windows blurring the gentle light. And off, down the lane. A hare skips ahead of her.

It starts to snow again.

Life, as beautiful and fleeting and delicate and unique as a single, simple snowflake.

13

FOCUS on Katie Anderson, Artist I am a public artist based from my live-in studio in Brydekirk, near Annan. I’m interested in the role that artists and creative actions can play in activating spaces, energising those involved in its production and inspiring new ways of approaching challenging conversations or experimental ideas, and these interests drive the projects that I develop – both as part of an individual practice and through my collaborative working with a variety of people and creative groups. My practice as an artist is about establishing projects alongside, and as part of, communities – creating work that has its foundations in a sense of place.

Katie Anderson in her studio, photo by Kirstin McEwan

14

Dumfries Tower of Light, photo by Kirstin McEwan

Previous projects include permanent public artworks, temporary site-specific or participatory works, sculpture, hand lettering, and soundbased installations. Working from a wide collection of skills and making processes allow me to approach a variety of contexts, ideas, and peoples by applying the most appropriate skill set to a project.

I’ve been a practicing artist for over ten years, and through much of this time I’ve worked closely with arts organisations and collectives such as The Stove Network in Dumfries – a truly foundational experience where I had my first opportunities to develop and grow into the artist I am now – I find the experience of working alongside other creative folk to be an inspirational and motivational drive when stepping out into public spaces with our work, a collective experiment in dreaming up potential futures and possibilities for our everyday spaces.

More recently, I’ve taken up a membership with Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop to support development in my making practice and giving me access to additional facilities and technical support – particularly in metal casting and production. It’s been a game changer for my creative focus, and I look forward to working these processes into next year’s projects with plenty of plans already afoot.

Tower of Light, collaborative public artwork delivered with The Stove Network, December 2021 The Tower of Light was a temporary light installation using 1,000 individual candles, conceived of by The Stove Network for Dumfries Museum’s Windmill Tower. We created the Tower of Light as a midwinter celebration, a gentle and reflective moment created on one of the darkest days of the year for people in Dumfries to take stock of the year past and the one to come. The installation was a response to the pandemic and its impact on gatherings and public events in the town’s calendar, but carefully considered to feel like a safe and welcoming space for visitors.

My role in the project ran from creative sessions at the start of the project, to lead project and event management, installation, and takedown. I also created a unique soundscape that wrapped around the museum for the installation’s duration.

It was a huge undertaking, working with lots of brilliant project partners, Stove team members and volunteers.

15

Voices of the Future Furness Academy, photo by Kirstin McEwan

Art Gene: Voices of the Future and Barrow Tarot I’ve had the opportunity to work with Art Gene, a wonderful arts organisation based in Barrow-in-Furness, South Cumbria on a couple of projects starting with a residency in 2020, cut short just before the pandemic broke out worldwide. This included two favourite projects, the first Barrow Tarot – a conversational artwork and playful tool for exploring possible futures taking inspiration from across Barrovian identity and everyday finds.

After this, I got involved in a second project in 2022 working with the University of Central Lancashire exploring how young people could express their views about landscape and environment where they live through creative activities. I worked with a brilliant bunch of students from Furness Academy on a project which culminated in us parading a handmade banner across the town centre to the town hall, to present to the town mayor and an event within the council chambers.

Sound Horn for Sonica Festival, photo by Kirstin McEwan

Sound Horn Sound Horn is an immersive sculptural and audio installation exploring the effect of a created soundscape on our experience of place. Initially imagined for a ruined building in Annandale, the work has since developed with support first from Sanctuary Lab, and then from Cryptic Glasgow and residencies at Cove Park into a touring artwork as a meditation on the audible place, the subtle changes in tone as audience and sound move around the space are invitations to explore, settle and absorb.

Installation locations have included Barwhillanty Estate near Parton, Brodie Castle in Moray, Pollok House in Glasgow for Sonica 2019 and most recently, Middlesbrough town centre for Middlesbrough Sonic Arts Week in July 2023.

16

Remembering Together Dumfries and Galloway I was commissioned along with artist Dr ts Beall to lead on Remembering Together Dumfries and Galloway in Summer 2022, a national project which looks to create community covid memorials in every local authority area in Scotland. We began by hosting sessions and activities working with a wide variety of people across the region exploring the impact of the pandemic on different communities, from unpaid carers and NHS staff to school children and families, multicultural and creative groups. Ts Beall and I are the lead artists for the Dumfries and Galloway area of the project, which has continued into its second phase where we are currently working across five locations in the region. The project is supported by DG Unlimited, Dumfries and Galloway Council and greenspace Scotland.

Katie Anderson, studio process, photo by Kirstin McEwan

Elsewhere, signwriting, photo by Kirstin McEwan

Dumfries Women’s Signwriting Squad The Dumfries Women’s Signwriting Squad was born out of an informal gathering of women with a love of hand painted letters, supported by artist Kevin Reid who was the creative producer for the Oven space in Dumfries back in 2018. Since then we’ve met regularly and now support a monthly meet up for emerging and established painters to get together and share skills, and we additionally take on commission based work with local independent businesses and organisations, including Lisa Rothwell’s jewellery studio in Langholm, Dumfries Museum, Gallovidia Books in Kirkcudbright, and The Dougie Arms pub in Dumfries.

Website: www.katiejanderson.com Instagram: @katie_j_and Twitter/X: @katiejoand Instagram for DWSS: @dumfriessignwritingsquad

17

FOCUS on Andy Stewart, Creative Producer Andy Stewart is the Producer (Children and Young People) at Wigtown Festival Company (WFC), one of the region’s leading arts and cultural organisations.

Andy Stewart, photo by Colin Hattersley

Having studied media and fine art at college in Durham, Andy returned to the region in the summer of 2019 to join the team at WFC and lead their Children and Young People, and creative learning portfolio, including some 150+ annual events, into a new and exciting phase. Alongside his work at WFC, Andy is a Business Management student at the Open University, a judge for the Diverse Book Awards and a director of

18

Visible Fictions, an innovative and dynamic creative production house based in Glasgow. In the summer of 2022, Andy had an unexpected career turn when he co-founded a timber merchants and sawmilling business on the outskirts of Newton Stewart, and more recently has been working as a freelance theatre producer.

Andy continues to juggle these often very differing roles and enjoys that no two days are the same. During his time at Wigtown Festival Company, Andy is most proud of having founded the Big DoG Schools Tour that sees a handful of authors visit often upwards of 40 of Dumfries and Galloway’s primary schools over the course of a week each winter. The tour takes in the length and breadth of the region and has donated over 1000 books to children and schools in the last 12 months.

Andy took some time out of his busy schedule to give us a glimpse into his world:

I grew up in Durham in the north-east of England and moved to Galloway when I was thirteen, I now split my week between the two places that I’m lucky to call home. Growing up, Durham was going through what estate agents would call a period of ‘regeneration’, and there were few creative opportunities, I didn’t know anyone who worked in the arts and whilst we would occasionally have an author or artist visit to school a career in this industry was unheard of to me. When I moved to Galloway, Wigtown Festival Company was building its Wigtown YA (at the time WTF) programme as part of Wigtown Book Festival - the programme was peer-programmed by young people and that was the first time I really acknowledged that there were careers in the arts - it’s been a full cycle for me to now work with the company full time and to lead on our activity for children and young people. I am endlessly passionate about getting kids to read, supporting teachers to get their pupils excited about reading and nurturing a community of children that read for pleasure - it shouldn’t ever be a chore that is reserved for school. Department of Education research shows that reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than family circumstances, parents’ educational background or income - this is a statement that I write in funding applications all the time, yet it continues to completely blow my mind - reading really does change lives. Outside of work I love to explore art galleries, visit other festivals, and can often be found in a cafe working away on a freelance project or reading a good book.

19

Photo by Colin Tennant

I’m most proud of the Big DoG Schools Tour - it is such an amazing highlight of our year and grew out of a need to reach children and young people when school finances were at their tightest - we were able to turn reducing numbers taking part in our Wigtown Book Festival education programme into record breaking school engagement. There is something really special about putting an artist in front of children and seeing the light bulb moment where they realise there is a whole career pathway out there - equally, it’s important that we encourage people to write as a hobby - it’s allowed to just be fun and not work. Last year’s tour reached over 50 schools and directly engaged with over 2,500 pupils - wider impact was estimated in the region of 8,000 pupils - we also donated 20 books to each school that we visited and supported debut and early career authors who were taking part.

Our Big DoG Children’s Book Festival that takes place each spring in Dumfries is also a firm favourite. Having really just found its feet as the Covid pandemic hit, it has almost felt like building a new festival from scratch over the last few years. There has been excellent buy-in from both regional and national organisations and we have hosted the likes of Aardman Animations and Scottish Opera over the last two years alongside a whole host of the nation’s favourite children’s authors and illustrators.

20

We have just celebrated our 25th anniversary Wigtown Book Festival, it was also my 10th anniversary of being involved with the Festival and my 5th programme as a producer with the staff team so it was always going to be a very special one.

Our 2023 children’s programme felt very pivotal for me in terms of the calibre of talent we were able to attract. I believe passionately in the importance of promoting debut and early career authors, illustrators and storytellers but I also believe that it is powerful for children to meet the authors behind the books that they read in the classroom, and to know that they are people just like them too. A total career highlight was being able to programme Sir Michael Morpurgo who spoke to a sold-out venue before being serenaded by over 400 people singing Happy Birthday as he celebrated his 80th - I’ll be eternally grateful to Michael; his agent, Phil Perry and Vivian French for their parts in making such a landmark moment that we will be talking about for years to come.

Follow Andy on Twitter @ThatAndyStewart

Photo by Colin Tennant

21

Artful Migration, photo by Colin Hattersley

22

Artful Migration Artful Migration is a residency programme that offers artists a unique insight into the migratory birds of Dumfries & Galloway through partnership working with local nature reserves and the opportunity to create new, high-quality artworks in response for public display. The programme is being developed by Dumfries & Galloway based arts organisation Upland in partnership with Moving Souls Dance.

The 2023 artist in residence programme ran from January - October 2023 and focused on the elusive nightjar in partnership with Forest and Land Scotland (FLS) and RSBP Scotland.

The nightjar is one of Scotland’s rarest and most unusual birds, which appears to be thriving in Dumfries and Galloway, with the majority of the population nesting in South West Scotland. The residency was awarded to D&G based artists, Leeming + Paterson, whose work explores the landscape and our human interactions therein in the context of climate change and biodiversity loss.

This year’s residency follows on from two previous residencies - a pilot residency which took place in 2017-18 at WWT Caerlaverock focused on the whooper swans, undertaken by Angela Alexander Lloyd, and a second residency, undertaken by John Wallace, which ran from June 2020 – August 2021 at NTS Threave Garden & Estate exploring the osprey who spend each summer on established nests on this site.

Leeming + Paterson’s field research took place at Lochar Mosses (approx. 4 miles from Dumfries) and other local sites, as well as a trip to Thetford forest to observe the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) at work on their nightjar conservation programme. Most of these visits have occurred at night, with long spells of sitting in silence, waiting for the birds to appear, covered head to toe to fend off the ferocious Scottish midge.

23

‘It has been an incredible few months. It is one of the most challenging residencies we have undertaken artistically, but it is also one of the most rewarding.

When you commence a project like this, you often have little idea of what you will discover, and we were fascinated by the breadth of opportunities for exploring different aspects of birds and migration.”

(Ted Leeming)

At the end of their residency Leeming + Paterson created an exhibition, Much Ado About Nightjars, at Gracefield Arts Centre. The outputs of the residency were an eclectic mix of thought-provoking works, reflecting the complex trade-offs required between the worlds of conservation, ecological succession, commercial land use, food production, and cultural convention. The exhibition featured night-time photography, alternative processes and mixed media pieces accompanied by sounds and smells from the bog.

Work by Ted Leeming.

Photo by Mike Bolam

Nightjar by Leeming & Paterson

24

The Species Scrolls, Morag Paterson. Photo by Mike Bolam

The exhibition also featured Scene: here, a multiscreen video installation created by John Wallace exploring NTS Threave Nature Reserve and the yearly return of ospreys, originally created as a result of his 2020-21 Artful Migration residency.

Upland and Moving Souls Dance took the chance to reflect on the programme and it’s three distinct residencies through the Artful Migration conference, which aligned with the exhibition. Held on 20th October at Easterbrook Hall, the conference invited partners, artists, conservationists, and audiences to come together to learn more about the achievements and challenges of the residency programme and look to potential future collaborations.

The event brought together artistic practice, conservation, citizen engagement, sustainable land management and the manner in which these approaches overlap.

The Artful Migration programme was funded by Moving Souls Dance and Creative Scotland.

The events also formed part of the Wild Goose Festival. weareupland.com

Exhibition. Photo by Mike Bolam

25

Davey Payne After five years of daydreaming in class and truanting to read in the Ewart I left school with undiagnosed ADHD, a love of Romantic Poetry and one Higher in Spanish. I travelled and worked around the UK and Europe before enrolling into University but quickly dropped out, being unable to digest academic tomes. I resolved to assetize the positive symptoms of my ADHD and began writing poetry seriously after winning Blueprint 100’s Burns Re: Imagined 1st Prize in 2020.

Since then I’ve collaborated with visual artists, performed at Big Burns Supper, featured in Lumpen and been published in The Common Breath’s Poetry Blog. In 2021 I was one of five emerging D & G writer’s commissioned to contribute the Stove’s High Street Multiverse project. I’m currently working on a concept poem called ‘Arrest & Wreckreation’ which describes my personal experience of drug and alcohol misuse and the criminal justice system.

Coasting Home A grey-yellow hue bleeds through pink morning cloud as a sunburst beam through the saloon window. Daylight, sliced by venetian-blinds, ploughs ‘run-rigs’ in the languid smog inside evoking the lush verdant frame of home. Sinews of smoke snake soot and blood embers until the time comes to navigate the stoic seating at Victoria Station which again reminds him of home.

Specifically, the interior of the brutalist DSS building sitting at odds between Georgian town houses and Dumfries High Street. Sliding onto the 920 he succours sleep with another slug of warm wine and it feels like mere seconds before he jolts awake as the coach approaches Birmingham. He had a few scrapes here too, getting accidentally pished in the Dubliner when changing at Digbeth. Not today, though. He exhales slowly, reclines in silent gratitude, and succumbs to another delirious daymare…

Grim up north? Not these days! Terracing, built for miners, housing right to buy revolutionary commuters. Old red brick exposed, like new. The black crust of industrial ejaculations sandblasted, purged and pissed down the drain with the blood sweat and tears of scourged souls. Lost, found but unclaimed…

Steadily, under a parma violet dusk, familiar way signs slide into view. Forlorn Celtic crosses, baby blue thistles. Finally, that skullish silhouette of Burns winks at him. A welcome or a warning? Unsure, sanguine thoughts stir his soul as Criffel slouches and mourns its reflection on the Nith, forever watchful over its faithful coast... © Davey Payne

26

Merryneum One night between Christmas and Hogmanay turned into day as the hiss of another can broke the dawn. Everyone else had crashed and I give a croopit rendition of ‘Whiskey Blues (Sittin’ Here and Drinkin’) as geese honk in the half light.

The velvet trim of the sill is slowly sewn by the emerging light as I salve the smarting wounds of sleeplessness. A black dog’s barking has faded to a low incessant growl and I imagine its chain – taut, straining like its neck sinews. The lamp blazes extraneously yet I am loath to switch off as I admire the ebony sunburst cast onto the wall by the unread pile of presents on the bookstand. Thinking of the day before, I cringe before taking a warm towel from the press and tiptoe to shower with a black heart and heavy chest.

In the kitchen, I turn on the radio just catching the coda of Tom Waits’ Ol’ 55 a sobering kettle hisses as those perennial seagulls fanfare their usual scornful lament. Outside the dogs chain is relaxed coiled like a turd, glinting in the sun © Davey Payne

Davey Payne performing

‘Libraries Gave Us Power’ Knowledge was the power that libraries once gave us. Before they became Customer Service Centres where dog waste bags can be collected, births, deaths & marriages be registered, bus passes applied for. In a regenerated mortuary slab landscape I search for empathy in Burn’s cryogenic eyes and curse my poverty en route to the Ewart to cloak my loneliness with free Wi-Fi. I fulfil my job search agreement while ticking one of D & G’s forty seven Warm Spaces off my list!

I should select a hearty log from what’s left on the shelves to crown the dying embers of my dignity in devotion, fan the flames of wisdom, savour the narcotic effects of Coleridge like slugs of warm rum. Imagine, in five years that all Customer Service Centres too, are decimated, everything that they provide, available online?

Imagine these spent shells of humanity being appropriated by Wetherspoon’s, that the Ewart is now ‘The Andrew Carnegie’, a place where we can regale each other in 3D, be licked lyrically by slurred accuracies and unconsciously swallow each others words whole. Where we assert our indignancies with lucid eye contact and ‘course-I-do’s’ or ‘as-if -I-woulds’, instead of toasting our collective powers and relishing forbidden fruit garnered from vast lore forests of forgotten knowledge! Consumed by shame today, I stepped in to a Warm Space, not to read but for heat, to huddle and cower. © Davey Payne

27

Mostly Ghostly Winter; season of frosty sparkle and nose-nipping cold, swirling snow and cool, ethereal light. That, and ghost stories. When the evenings lengthen, and the darkness becomes almost omnipresent, it feels especially tempting to gather in the toasty firelight and warmth of friendship to enjoy a good tale. Dumfries and Galloway has a long tradition for stories of the uncanny, and at this time of year, when eldritch beings feel closer, Mostly Ghostly love nothing more than sharing their stories with you!

The Mostly Ghostly team (left to right: Mary, Kenny, Kathleen, John)

28

Mostly Ghostly Festive, photo by Allan Devlin

Mostly Ghostly – Kathleen Cronie, John Hill, Mary Wood and our invaluable new member, Kenny Murray - are a quartet of storytellers and researchers who thrive on our collective passion for history, folklore and the supernatural. Dumfries and Galloway is our home, the place we live, breathe and work from; a constant companion, and dynamic inspiration in our journey.

Quite simply, a storyteller’s dream! Founders of the Festival of Folklore, we specialise in researching and revealing the darker side of local history through our eclectic region-wide range of tours and events. We launched our project on 31st October 2008 at the Theatre Royal in Dumfries, leading to a long-standing successful partnership, and fifteen years down the line, that original fire continues to burn brightly, in castles, kirkyards, ancient streets and historic sites, wherever there’s a tale to be told.

29

Mostly Ghostly at the Old Bridge House, Dumfries

Collaborative working has always been, key; enriching, innovative and uplifting, it helps us celebrate the very best of our enigmatic region, Valued partners include: The Crichton Trust, The National Trust for Scotland, D&G Museums Services, The Stove and Robert Burns Ellisland Museum and Farm.

Each event and interaction creates meaningful moments. Our Heroes of the Titanic tour, which explores the lives of two young Dumfries men lost in the disaster is a powerful example. For the tour climax, guests gather at the Titanic Memorial in Dumfries’s Dock Park to honour heroism, celebrate youth, and respect those affected, while young violinist, Anna Pearcey, performs a poignant rendition of Nearer My God to Thee - experiences that resonate long after the tour ends. Working with The Crichton Trust on our enduringly popular Crichton Crypt Tours has provided countless highlights; seeing our guests’ reactions as they explore hidden areas of the Crichton Memorial Church, while listening to compelling histories and folklore of this former pioneering hospital never fails to stir. Our range of tours for young people include Croc in the Frock – a venture supported by the Spot-lit Literary Tourism Innovation programme where Mary takes on the role of the eponymous Croc. The children’s joyful exclamations when this larger-than-life, yet endearingly shy, character appears, is a pleasure to behold.

30

Stories have the power to transcend worlds, connecting people in the most evocative ways.

A personal favourite is that of a phantom piper, first introduced to me by my Grandad, Tom Carnochan.

Tom enjoyed a wee joke, asking if I’d ever seen or found the ‘heedless piper o’ Corsock Moor’ - his way of showing support, and hailing from Corsock, he held a fond familiarity of the piper’s territory. It has since become a signature piece, loved by many, and is my personal tribute to Tom. I promise we’ll keep looking for the piper – please let me know if you see him…

www.mostlyghostly.co.uk (launching soon!), facebook:com/ mostlyghostlytours instagram.com/mostlyghostlytours Twitter/X: @mostlyghostly_

Mostly Ghostly, photo by Allan Devlin

31

December 2020. The upstairs room at The Old Mill Palnackie is warm with lamplight and candles. Twenty people are gathered, listening to a story which I will read over ten weeks as artist-in-residence. The story, The Ravens Nest: An Icelandic Journey through Light and Darkness, is a lyrical ecological memoir inspired by a transformational half-decade I spent living in Iceland’s otherworldly Westfjords - a landscape of steep sided mountains, fjords, waterfalls and hot springs; the culture and economy built on fishing and sheep farming.

Cold Blushing, photo by Sarah Thomas

32

A Shared Light Sarah Thomas, Author

33

Kvîldvaka

This was my first time bringing kvöldvaka - ‘the evening wake’ - to the UK. The origins of this Icelandic tradition go back centuries, to a time when most Icelanders lived on farms. On winter evenings, with the early disappearing light, the families went inside their turf-roofed houses to continue with the wool work required to make and maintain their own clothes. They would gather in the baðstofa - the single loft room in which they lived, worked, slept and ate - around the light of a lamp of animal fat, fish liver oil, whale or seal blubber, the wick made of bog cotton. Under that shared light, someone would read aloud to the household from sagas, folktales, or the Bible while they knitted, darned, and spun. Storytelling, making and mending were forever intertwined.

Even in a time of scarce resources and deep poverty, everyone could share in a story. The foundations for a highly literate and book loving nation were laid.

34

In a nod to this tradition, I had written The Raven’s Nest with reading aloud in mind; the book as a gathering place. In that spirit I committed to reading it aloud to an audience in its entirety before it found a publisher. A ritual.

And so we found ourselves at The Old Mill each week, knitting, mending, listening.

Halfway through, the pandemic struck, bringing our lamplit soirees to an abrupt halt. As the months ticked on, I relinquished to finishing the readings on Zoom. I invited each guest to light a candle to evoke the shared intimacy of the room, and to bring an item to make or mend.

The shared space became screen squares of busy hands and fingers, flickering light, listening ears. Somehow, it worked. As if by magic, the day after I finished the story I had a call from an agent. The Raven’s Nest was published in summer 2022 by Atlantic Books.

December 2023. I have now held kvöldvaka all across Europe. In Dumfries and Galloway, Cample Line kindly hosted my launch event which included a mending workshop with Denise Zygadlo. We’ve had readings at Tidespace Kirkcudbright, Gracefield Arts Centre, CatStrand, The Smiddy Balmaclellan and The Hive Moniaive. It has travelled the length of the UK, and to Iceland, France, Germany, Sweden and Ireland on a two month long train journey, a low carbon tour. Kvöldvaka is quiet resistance: simple, convivial, beautiful. It touched a moment of high energy prices, a soaring cost of living, war, a fractious public discourse, the fabric of life and our ecosystem tearing at the seams.

Taking an hour to come together to listen while making or mending with our hands is refuge and repair. It is what humans evolved doing. For a while it transports us from our anxious preoccupations, and makes space for imagination.

At this time of year in Iceland the Jólabókaflóð - the ‘Yule Book Flood’ - is well underway.

It is tradition to gift one another books for Christmas and part of Christmas Day is spent reading. From November publishers release the majority of their titles and the book

Kvöldvaka in Icelandic Farm House by H. Aug. G. Schiøtt (1823-1895)

shopping begins. This culture of gifting books dates back to World War II, when Iceland was newly independent from Denmark. More lenient financial restrictions on paper meant that books were one of the only luxury items not to be strictly rationed. While imports of other items dried up, books became the gift of choice, and remained so.

In both these traditions, new and old, there is a pattern: a culture of abundance emerges from scarcity. Good books are a hearth around which we can gather in dark times. Paper, words, voice, breath. And the light, always the light.

The Raven’s Nest: An Icelandic Journey Through Light and Darkness is available at The Old Mill Palnackie and at all good bookshops and online.

If you would like to buy a special Christmas Book Flood copy directly from Sarah - signed, inscribed and gift wrapped, contact her directly through the contact form at sarahthomas.net (last post 19th December).

Follow Sarah on Instagram @journeysinbetween

Sarah Thomas

35

KIM AYRES, Artist Photographer Kim Ayres is well known to many in creative circles, in this region and beyond. In his typical charming style, when we asked him to contribute to this issue, we got two articles.

Choose which one – we couldn’t! So here they both are. Kim Ayres – artist photographer and much loved D&G creative.

36

Kim Ayres

Sometimes it feels a little like the daytime TV show, Ready Steady Cook, where I am given a bunch of ingredients, and in a limited amount of time have to deliver something everyone is going to be delighted with.

But instead of a tin of kidney beans, a bag of mushrooms, and an over-ripe avocado, I have a location, people, outfits and props, while my “store cupboard” items are my camera, lighting equipment, and whatever else I remembered to throw in the back of my car before leaving.

To narrow the odds in my favour, I like to do as much planning and research in advance as I can – primarily with the client, and anyone else I might be collaborating with.

What I am looking for is the story.

7 Deadly Sins of Chocolate, Kim Ayres

37

Each single image needs to relate a mood, idea or concept to the viewer. I might be creating only a handful of photos, or maybe dozens, but they will be viewed individually so need to work as stand-alone images as well as a part of a coherent set.

This is as true with a head shot as it is for an elaborate set piece created with a team of 15 people or more.

For a portrait, does the sitter want to look strong and authoritative, warm and friendly, wild and wacky, sexy and sultry, or thoughtful and intellectual? Each of these moods might require a different background, outfit, lighting and camera angle, over and above the person’s expression.

However, when more than one person

Brides in The Salon, Kim Ayres

38

is involved there are frequently multiple agendas to satisfy. As well as the actual end-client, if there are models, hairdressers, make-up artists, stylists, or location providers, they might be offering their services in return for use of the photos, so I also need to make sure they will each have something that shows their own contributions in the best light.

But why go to this much effort? Surely it would be easier – and certainly a lot less hassle – to photograph a beautiful sunset, or a cute red squirrel?

The answer is I have always enjoyed fiction more than fact. If I was an author, I would probably be writing sci-fi and fantasy books, rather than journalistic reports, historic investigations, or an academic treatise.

Polly Pullar as The Fantastic Mr Fox, Kim Ayres

To me, photography is like having the ultimate dressing-up box – with the right location, outfit, props, lighting, composition, and editing, we can create anything! It’s theatre; it’s cinema; it’s storytelling.

Whether it’s constructing an image that looks like a 17th Century Old Masters painting, or a still from a Wes Anderson movie, or a scene that could have appeared in a Sunday night TV Drama – the fun is in the exploration of the ideas, the multiple levels of problem solving, and the collaboration with other people to create something none of us would have been able to achieve on our own.

We get to be the heroes, heroines, or villains, of our own epic stories.

39

Artists at The Nail Factory, Kim Ayres

I’d barely turned 40 but only had the energy of an 80-year-old with no real explanation why.

As my life seemed to be on hold, stuck in a quagmire of permanent fatigue, I found myself becoming more and more preoccupied with my small digital camera.

If I held the lens at this angle, rather than that, or changed the settings on the camera, then I could fundamentally change the look of the thing I was pointing it at. And then if I imported the image into Photoshop, I could change the crop, play with the contrast and colours.

40

Eventually I would be diagnosed with ME/ CFS – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – but by then I had become obsessed with photography: the camera seemed to offer me a degree of control and creativity in a life where I’d felt I’d had neither.

To begin with I did what many people do – took photos of a lonely tree on a hill, a crocus pushing up through the snow, or peeling paintwork and rusty door handles.

But then I discovered faces: infinitely varied full of landscape, expression, and story.

Moody black and white portraits now became my passion. I wasn’t interested in smiling faces and smooth skin – I wanted texture, character, and narrative. I started building a reputation in the region and decided to start up a portrait photography business, built around my limited energy levels.

In 2011 I was selected as Artist in Residence at the Wigtown Book Festival, where across the 10 days of the event I photographed 173 authors, visitors, and locals, all staring moodily into the camera – no smiles allowed – and displayed them all along with the title of a book they loved.

This led to a project to take photos of authors dressed as characters from literature. A dozen took part – enough for a fund-raising calendar – and suddenly I had to work out how we were going to make images where people could look like The Mad Hatter, Harry Potter, and HG Wells.

This was a whole new world of production values and problems to solve. What location would we need; what outfits; what props; how would I light it; what could I do with the editing that would enhance the narrative?

While I have never lost my fondness for the intimacy of head shots, whenever possible I now love to create images that look theatrical and cinematic – sometimes working with a team of hairdressers, makeup artists, clothes stylists, models, and location providers.

Whether it’s constructing an image that looks like a 17th Century Old Masters painting, or a still from a Wes Anderson movie, or a scene that could have appeared in a Sunday night TV Drama – the fun is in the exploration of the ideas, the multiple levels of problem solving, and the collaboration with other people to create something none of us would have been able to achieve on our own.

It’s so much fun - the biggest surprise to me is there aren’t more photographers who do this.

Kim Ayres https://www.kimayres.co.uk/

What had already been present in my moody black and white portraits – the pursuit of story and emotion rather than day to day reality or a flattering likeness – now exploded in colour and scale.

The Curious Case of The Mince-pie and Santa-hat, Kim Ayres Come The Morning Light, Kim Ayres

41

Tabi’s Recommended Reads Maintaining the theme of creativity, my recommendations for this issue would all make lovely gifts for all ages to enjoy, or buy them for yourself, they are wonderfully creative and inspiring books. These titles are available from all great bookshops including Thomas Tosh in Thornhill who kindly allowed me to review copies for this feature. Many thanks to Paul and David of Thomas Tosh for their generosity.

Open this Box and Make Some Art Robert Shore The clue is in the title!

Making art doesn’t have to be about technically brilliant painting, sculpting, and drawing, or complicated equipment. This is a card deck and booklet of 40 super-simple art activities, each inspired by the actual work of a famous artist.

Activities that anyone can do, anytime, anywhere, to increase everyday creativity. The emphasis of each activity is on making art accessible and to understand the simple joy of straightforward creative acts. Open the box and make some art with someone you love.

The Artist’s Journey Volume 2: The travels that inspired the artistic greats - Journeys of Note Travis Elborough Follow in the footsteps of some of the world’s most famous painters in this fascinating work from the Journeys of Note series. Some truly remarkable works of art have been inspired by artists spending time away from their typical surroundings.

From epic road trips and arduous treks into remote territories to cultural tours and sojourns in the finest hotels, this book explores 30 influential journeys taken by artistic greats and reveals the repercussions of those travels on the painters’ personal lives and the broader cultural landscape.

42

Cut Up This Book and Create Your Own Underworld Eliza Scott Let your imagination go wild. Make shadowy skeletons dance before ruined churches, lilies bloom against apocalyptic cloudscapes, or serpents wind through empty eye sockets, the more fantastic the better and there’s no limit to the visions you can conjure.

There are backgrounds, textures, images large and small, and they are all ready for you to cut out and combine in expressive new ways. All you need is scissors, glue, and your nightmarish reveries.

The Handbook of Forgotten Skills: Old fashioned fun for a new generation Natalie Crowley (author), Elaine Batiste (author), Chris Duriez (illustrator) Turn the clock back to the simpler times of cold lemonade, evenings by a campfire, a warm blanket in winter. Fully-illustrated chapters feature the history and story behind more than thirty skills for you to discover and learn. Perfect for children of ALL ages.

This book brings endless hours of fun and imagination · Skills include how to grow your own tomatoes, how to sew on a button, how to use a compass and how to mend a sock. · Fully illustrated throughout with step-by-step instructions and essential tips. · This book offers a simple approach to learning a new skill or craft and encourages us to save money. · Promotes sustainability and encourages creativity and craftsmanship.

Enjoy these reads and all your winter and festive books. And remember my motto: You can never own too many books!

43

EVENTS Midwinter Ceilidh with Whirligig Thu 21st December 2023, 7:30pm, Dalry Town Hall Experience a festive kick-off to the Christmas season with CatStrand as they present an enchanting evening of music and dance. Delight in excellent tunes and skilful calling by the trusted hands of Whirligig, featuring CatStrand favourites Ruth Morris, Gavin Marwick, and Phil Alexander.

To book tickets, call 01644 420374 or visit the link. https://gcat.scot/arts/

Whirligig

44

The Gallovidian Gathering 23rd December 2023 7:00pm Castle Douglas Town Hall Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival are hosting another Gallovidian Gathering at Castle Douglas Town Hall. Come and join them on Saturday, December 23rd, for a unique celebration that puts a fresh twist on the traditional cultural practices of the region.

Embark on an immersive journey through time, filled with delightful experiences such as dining, drinking, dancing, and festive cheer.

This event offers a glimpse into some of the most innovative and thrilling sounds emerging from Scotland.

To purchase tickets, click the link. https://dgartsfestival.org.uk/events/arts-live/the-gallovidiangathering/

45

EXHIBITIONS ‘The Women of Dumfries: Art, Suffrage, Temperance and War’ 1st March 2023 to 1st January 2024, Dumfries Museums This captivating exhibition delves into the lives of women in Dumfries from approximately 1850 to 1950, a transformative period where more women became active in the public domain, advocating for women’s suffrage and participating in social movements. Don’t let this chance pass you by—the exhibition is open until January 1st. Make sure to experience it!

Visit the link for more information. https://www.dgculture.co.uk/event/the-women-ofdumfries-art-suffrage-temperance-and-war/ Dr Flora Murray by Francis Dodd Jumana Emil Abboud, Ripple I

Jumana Emil Abboud, The Unbearable Halfness of Being 7th October – 17th December 2023, CAMPLELINE Only a few days left to see Jumana Emil Abboud’s exhibition & film screening at CAMPLELINE. The Unbearable Halfness of Being, an exhibition of drawings, embroidered textiles, talismanic objects, wood carvings, video and neon light works. The exhibition brings together a compelling body of work that Jumana began to develop in 2020 as part of a residency with Sakiya, a progressive academy working across art, agrarian and ecological practices, based in ‘Ein Qiniya in the West Bank.

The three films, directed by Jumana Emil Abboud, in collaboration with photographer Issa Freij, were shot around ‘Ein Qiniya, a village in the West Bank in Palestine, and locations of haunted water sources (spirit-waters) across the West Bank, Jerusalem and northern Israel. https://campleline.org.uk/jumana-emil-abboud/

46

Scottish Portrait Awards Exhibition 14th October 2023 - 14th January 2024, Kirkcudbright Galleries The Scottish Portrait Awards shine a spotlight on a diverse array of artists, ranging from well-established figures to emerging talents, each showcasing a wide spectrum of artistic styles.

These exhibitions draw inspiration from both personal and universal narratives, exploring themes such as identity, family, loss, and personal reflections. These showcases are a celebration of the abundant creative talent flourishing in Scotland today. https://www.dgculture.co.uk/event/scottish-portraitawards-exhibition/

Donna McGlynn, Self-Portrait

Silver Jewellery: Make your own unique silver pieces Selected Sundays - 28th January & 25th February 2024, Shambellie House Come join Sybil of Solway Silver for a hands-on experience in crafting your own beautiful piece of silver jewellery. The process is remarkably simple yet highly effective. You can unleash your creativity and leave with a stunning handmade silver creation!

This is just one of many workshops Shambellie House have to offer in the new year, some of which including monthly ceramics, stained glass window and quilting workshops. https://www.shambelliehouse.org

47

Nightjar by Leeming & Paterson

To become a member of DG Unlimited complete the form here.

To contribute to FOCUS magazine, please email our FOCUS editor and director, Tabi Mudaliar at comms.dgu@gmail.com

Funders

With thanks to: Creative Scotland, Dumfries & Galloway Council, and The Holywood Trust

Acknowledgements

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

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