On the 30th o fMay2025, a free micro-festival of creative events curated exclusively for young people will be held around Dumfries Town Centre.
Programmed by Creative Spaces (a project by the StoveNetwork), there will be seven events for young people (16-30 year olds), culminating with an evening Showcase in the newly opened Grainstore at 48 White Sands.
The fringe events have been programmed for young people who want to get more involved in the creative scene where they live.These events include workshops; an ‘Introduction to Riso’at The Stove’s new community print space and workshop in the Standard Building on Dumfries High Street, ‘AYoung Person’s Crash Course in Creative Placemaking’, held in the Stove Network building at 100 HighStreet, and‘Digital Music Making with DMC’at Hopper Records.
There are two exhibitions by two young artists who have completed the Creative Spaces Associate programme:‘Everything is Rubbish and All Rubbish is Wonderful’ by James Gough upstairs at the Coach & Horses Inn, and ‘The Gaze’,ashort film by Anna Murray, which will be shown on a loop at the RBC Film Theatre.
There will also be a Dumfries walkabout, ‘Place as Practice: A Town Walk’, which will set off from the Suspension Bridge.
The grand finale of the day, the Creative Spaces Showcase will betaking place from 7:00 pm–10:00pm at the Grainstore. This free event promises to be an evening of reflection, networking andcelebration,where attendees canhear all about Dumfries & Galloway’s creative industries from thosewho work within them.
Guests will learn about the Creative Spaces Associates Programme from the current cohort of associates, who will share their experiences working in the programme and their own personal projects they have refined.
Mia Osborne, Creative Spaces Producer,says:“The Creative Spaces Showcase is always an amazing opportunity to spotlight and highlight our region’s young artists and celebrate the vast amount of creativity that we have here in Dumfries and Galloway.
By holding this year’s showcase in an exciting new, larger venue for Dumfries, we are hoping to welcome as many young people as possible to show them that a creative career in our region is possible.”
Martin O’Neill, Artistic Director of the Stove Network, says;“Watching how the Creative Spaces programme has evolved has been a joy to witness, and now, as we prepare for our biggest and most ambitious showcase yet, we are excited to welcome Dumfries and Galloway’s younger generation to meet fellow creatives and network with those who work in the creative sector. This year, we have programmed not just an evening showcase, but a whole array of freeworkshops, exhibitions and walks to spark creativity and encourage a new cohort of young artists to flourish.”
All young people based in Dumfries and Galloway are invited to take part in the day’sactivities andattend the evening showcase and celebration.
For more information visit www.thestove.org/events
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