V&A Dundee to present the first major exhibition in Scotland in 30 years to focus solely on tartan

Tartan (1 April 2023 – 14 January 2024) at V&A Dundee takes a radical new look at an instantly recognisable textile and pattern.

Set to be a major event in 2023’s cultural calendar, Tartan marks the 5^th anniversary of Scotland’s design museum.

Celebrating tartan and its global impact, the exhibition explores how tartan has connected and divided communities worldwide, how it has embraced tradition, expressed revolt, and inspired great works of art as well as playful and provocative designs.

Tartan at V&A Dundee brings together a dazzling selection of more than 300 objects from over 80 lenders worldwide, illustrating tartan’s universal and enduring appeal through iconic and everyday examples of fashion, architecture, graphic and product design, photography, furniture, glass and ceramics, film, performance and art.

The exhibition features loans from across Scotland and around the world, including Chanel, Dior, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Tate, V&A, National Museums of Scotland, National Trust for Scotland, National Theatre of Scotland, The Royal Collection, Fashion Museum Bath, the Highland Folk Museum and more, many of which are being shown together in Scotland for the first time.

Tartan’s importance and enduring appeal as a textile has been utilised by designers throughout history, with some of fashion’s most innovative and rebellious minds exercising their refined cutting skills on tartan as a fabric. This will be reflected with pieces by Chanel, Dior, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Comme des Garçons, alongside the work of contemporary designers inspired by tartan including Grace Wales Bonner, Nicholas Daley, Louise Gray, Charles Jeffrey, Owen Snaith and Olubiyi Thomas.

The exhibition takes a radical new look at tartan, juxtaposing historical objects with the contemporary and is laid out in five sections where visitors can immerse themselves in the world of Tartan.

Tartan and the Grid looks at the basic structure of tartan, introduced through textiles from around the world and positioning Tartan as a set of rules to be disrupted by designers.

Innovating Tartan looks at how tartan has always been at the intersection of technical innovation. Tartan has been translated into a pattern manifested in an incredible variety of materials, from natural to the synthetic, and even glass. It covers every imaginable surface, securing its position at the forefront of art and design.

In Tartan and Identity, tartan’s global fascination including its importance to diasporic communities is examined. Also, the appeal tartan has always held for those who express themselves through their clothing, from the traditional to the radical.

Tartan and Power shows how it disrupts and conforms. A force of pride and might, used to push boundaries or maintain control in war and peacetime.

Transcendental Tartan transports visitors to new worlds and possibilities in fashion, media, performance and popular culture. The exhibition will look at tartan’s many narratives and how it is used by designers as a medium for myth and storytelling.  

In addition, V&A Dundee has asked the public to contribute to the exhibition. This will be The People’s Tartan, an eclectic selection of objects and memories that will spark recognition and nostalgia.

To commemorate this landmark exhibition, V&A Dundee has commissioned Kinloch Anderson to design a new tartan to be used as the museum's exclusive tartan and developed a range of merchandise in collaboration with designers in Scotland.

The spectrum of how tartan has been worn is covered in the exhibition, from an eighteenth-century tartan dress coat for the Ancient Caledonian Society, to a significant photograph from around 1908 of Scottish Suffragettes proudly wearing tartan sashes. From Sir Jackie Stewart’s racing helmet with its distinctive Royal Stewart tartan band, through to contemporary streetwear from Japan.

Tartan includes objects that illustrate the global translation, appropriation, reach and appeal of tartan across cultures and borders. The indigenous textiles of Indian Madras and East African Shuka cloth are explored in relation to tartan in the exhibition. Global, diasporic and even out of this world connections are represented too, with an ensemble made from Canadian Maple Leaf tartan and a fragment of MacBean tartan taken aboard Apollo 12 in November 1969 by American astronaut Alan Bean.

Paintings, including Donald Judd’s minimalist grids, Christian Hook’s oil painting of actor Alan Cumming and Gerard Burns’ portrait of the late former Scotland International rugby star Doddie Weir OBE, sit alongside the seventeenth-century image of Lord Mungo Murray by John Michael Wright.

There are items of devotion, from a fragment of tartan worn by Prince Charles Edward Stuart, now afforded relic status, to Bay City Rollers trousers, handmade by a lifelong fan.

From the sublime through to the everyday - even the humble but iconic tartan shortbread tin has been considered.

Leonie Bell, V&A Dundee Director, says:

"To mark our 5th birthday we are celebrating and challenging the history and contradictions within Scotland’s most iconic design.

“Everyone knows tartan, in Scotland and across the world, and it is linked to a hugely diverse range of identities. It is at once the pattern of Highland myth and legend, forever entwined with Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite uprising, as well as being the pattern of 1970s punks and contemporary Japanese fashion influencers.  

“Tartan lives in the worlds of high fashion and tourism souvenirs, military uniform and palaces, football stadiums and concerts. It is adored and derided, has inspired great works of art and design, and somehow can represent unity and dissent, tradition and rebellion, the past, the present and the future. 

Tartan – the instantly recognisable symbol of Scotland, a global textile of oppression, rebellion, and fashion, is major and must-see show for 2023.”

Consultant curator Professor Jonathan Faiers, says:

“The diversity that this exhibition encompasses is an indication of the significant position that tartan occupies as a visual representation of historical, political and economic shifts within society. Marked by wars and revolutions, modified by migrations and prohibitions, tartan is uniquely positioned to act as a reminder of the past whilst clothing the present.

“As tartan so richly demonstrates, textiles, from the smallest details of their pattern and construction to their global dissemination, provide rules to be disrupted with which we can understand historical transformations within society and developments in our own time.

“The intersections and spaces between warp and weft provide a textile template for the collisions, coincidences and ruptures that punctuate society.”

Mhairi Maxwell, Curator at V&A Dundee, says:

“Tartan is a design which offers a set of rules to be disrupted. The sett, warp, weft and pivot are what makes tartan’s grid instantly recognisable, even the smallest fragment. But these rules are open to infinite possibility, as experimented with by designers in fashion, technology, architecture, and many other disciplines.

“Tartan has been misunderstood. Tartan has inspired designers, artists and its consumers a world away from parochial pastiche.

It is a global phenomenon, expressing diverse ideas of belonging, kinship, nationalism, unity and resistance.”

Kirsty Hassard, Curator at V&A Dundee, says:

“Tartan has been constantly reinvented and that is incredibly important to the narrative of the exhibition. It’s a pattern and textile that stretches back thousands of years, and some of the stories the exhibition tells are 300 years old or more, but Tartan isn’t a retrospective, it is absolutely a contemporary show.

“With in excess of 300 objects from more than 80 lenders around the globe, Tartan tells the story of how this pattern has travelled and explores the connection we all have to it.”

Entry to the exhibition is free for members and 18s and under.

Tickets are now on sale at www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/exhibtions/tartan

@VADundee #VADTartan

Image by Matt Rowe, courtesy of Art Night - Zadie Xa, 'Child of Magohalmi and the Echos of Creation' (2019) at Walthamstow Library, co-commissioned by Art Night, Tramway, Yarat and De La Warr.

In 2023, internationally renowned contemporary art festival Art Night will deliver its first full iteration in a city outside London - in Dundee.  In June 2023, over one packed weekend, organisers will present ten major new commissions in civic spaces across the city by internationally significant and emerging artists.  The free festival will be brought to Dundee in partnership with Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA).  The scheduled date is the evening of the 24th of June 2023.  Art Night will also collaborate with V&A Dundee;  Creative Dundee;  NeoN Digital Arts;  Cooper Gallery, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD) at the University of Dundee;  GENERATORprojects;  Dundee City Council;  Dundee Heritage Trust, and Hospitalfield, Arbroath.

The commissions will comprise ambitious live events, installations and performances and be presented in well-known Dundee locations, bringing to audiences and participants world-class cultural opportunities in the city.

Art Night has delivered four editions of the festival in London (2016-2019) in collaboration with major partners such as The Hayward Gallery and the ICA and showing work by globally significant artists such as Barbara Kruger;  Joan Jonas;  Zadie Xa;  Celia Hempton;  Mark Leckey;  Christine Sun Kim;  Frances Stark and Alberta Whittle.  One edition took place across the UK and online (2021) during the Pandemic, including an outdoor commission by the Guerrilla Girls in Dundee, which was also installed in further sites across Scotland, England and Wales alongside other works and projects.  The Dundee festival will be the first time a full festival has taken place in a city outside London.  Since 2019, Art Night has been curated by Artistic Director Helen Nisbet, a Shetland and London based curator and a team of curators and project workers based in Dundee.

Helen Nisbet, Artistic Director of Art Night

Art Night Dundee will take place primarily around the city centre of Dundee.  Many of the commissions will be developed in partnership with local communities and the majority will be developed as co-commissions with local, national and international partners.  Local artists and arts workers will be employed by the festival.  Some works will be installed longer than the ‘festival’ weekend for audiences to engage with across the summer of 2023, and one work will be gifted to a local collection after the project ends, creating further legacy of the festival in the city.  It can be announced now that one commission will be a new work by Turner Prize winning artist Tai Shani.

Joe Namy, 'The Eighth Automobile' (2019), Live performance at Sainsbury's Rooftop in Walthamstow, commissioned for Art Night 2019 and part of the London Borough of  Culture in Waltham Forest programme. Photo by Rama Knight, courtesy of Art Night

Artistic Director of Art Night, Helen Nisbet said, “We are beyond delighted to announce that our first full national festival will be in Dundee. Dundee is an excellent city which is very close to my heart due to formative experiences in the city and the people I’ve met here.  Dundee is a tremendous venue for Art Night, it has a vibrant cultural scene and strong social history and we will collaborate with inspiring partners to commission new work by globally important artists and work with local people to deepen our knowledge of the city. Art Night will bring a festival atmosphere to the city and wider area and kick off the summer of festivals in Scotland in 2023.  I look forward to telling you more plans soon, including the artists we will work with and more about the gorgeous and rich locations works will take place within”.  The programme will be free to attend, as with every edition of Art Night.  Since its inaugural edition, Art Night has also engaged with a wide range of audiences, exhibiting work in everyday places such as libraries, parks and squares, places of worship, shopping centres and car parks.

Beth Bate, Director, DCA, added, "We're thrilled to be partnering with Art Night to bring this exciting programme of new commissions to Dundee.  Our city, with its lively visual arts scene and world class galleries and museums, is a perfect location for Art Night's first full festival outside London, and we can't wait to share the full programme with our audiences."  Art Night Dundee is funded by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

Kirsteen Macdonald, Visual Arts Officer at Creative Scotland said:  “This is a hugely exciting development for Dundee and art lovers across the city and beyond. Art Night Dundee is the result of excellent partnership working across the region combined with the strong artistic vision of curator Helen Nisbet.  The festival will provide a unique opportunity to support an exciting group of artists to reach new audiences beyond traditional gallery spaces, reimagining the city and bringing people together in new experiences.”

Mark Flynn, convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee said:-  “I am delighted that Dundee will be the first venue outside London to host the unveiling of so many ambitious live events, installations and performances developed in partnership with local communities.  The city’s reputation as a visitor attraction of choice for its heritage and culture can only be cemented with the announcement of such a prestigious and creative event happening here.”

The artist line up will be revealed later in 2023.

Students at the University of Dundee are turning snippets of local life into art as part of a new online exhibition.

Illustration students at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design have interpreted oral histories from some of Dundee’s most colourful characters into new pieces of art, including jewellery, photography, and even a set of bagpipes.

Third-year students were provided with recordings from the University’s Archive Services, with the task of producing new work based on the experiences of storytellers, including actress Louise Ann Ross, street poet Gary Robertson, and photographer Alex Coupar.

The finished pieces from this year’s Archive Project are now available to view online.

Natalie Russell, Illustration lecturer, said, “The Archive Project really challenges our students to push their creative boundaries to create something both original and yet relevant to the resources we provide them.

“Seeing what they produce is always exciting, and this year’s selection of work is once again exceptional and a testament to the skills of our students. This year has obviously been different for the students, but their dedication and talent is evident through the pieces they have created for this task.

“The Archive Project always has a focus on Dundee, and that has been particularly nice this year, as it has helped to maintain that connection between those students who have sadly been away from the city for so long.

“While we sadly cannot welcome the people of Dundee to campus to view the results of this year’s Archive Project, we do hope that people enjoy the online exhibition experience.”

The Archive Project has been running since January 2017 and has inspired a range of exciting exhibition works reflecting the contents of boxes of material stored within the University of Dundee Archives.

While students are usually presented with a mystery box of items with which to inspire them, this year the Archive Services selected recordings from ’the Oral History Project' - a new and exciting alternative that offered more flexibility. These testimonies offered insights into the lives of people who have lived and worked in Dundee and its surrounding areas.

This year’s Archive Project is available to view online now.

A unique handmade dress created by a group of young Dundee parents has gone on display at V&A Dundee today (Friday 20 November).

Five students from Dundee charity Front Lounge, who are currently working towards the Kindred Clothing SQA customised award qualification, have spent the last six weeks learning new sewing and embroidery skills with V&A Dundee’s practising textile designers to create the 1960s style sustainable dress.

The hand-embroidered dress, unveiled by three of its creators Kayleigh Mitchell (21), Cerrys Duke (20) and Hannah Watson (21), can now be viewed as part of Sewing Box for the Future, a free exhibition which highlights how teaching care, repair and customisation skills can help address the crisis of waste in the fashion industry. The exhibition complements Mary Quant, the first international retrospective on the iconic British designer, which runs until 17 January 2021.

Kindred Clothing, run by Front Lounge, takes learners through the key stages of the garment production process, while teaching practical fashion photography skills and techniques to present themselves, their stories and their clothes.

Each element of the course is delivered by an experienced maker, with learners presenting a portfolio of their work at the end of the course. What makes Kindred Clothing unique is that it has childcare built into every aspect of it, allowing parents with young children to get involved.

The Stitch-School dress was created by Kayleigh Mitchell, Cerrys Duke, Chelsea French, Hannah Watson and Chelsie Bruce, with contributions from Jacqueline Goodall and Kayleigh Innes (Hope Hub artists) and Sarah Allan and Gary Inglis (second year Community Education students on placement with Front Lounge) over the course of six weeks in The Thomson Learning Centre with support from practising textile designers Kirstie Campbell and Syrah Jay and V&A Dundee’s Learning team.

Cerrys Duke said: “I started Kindred Clothing because I wanted to sew clothes for myself and my daughter but I didn’t realise it could take me this far. It’s been brilliant and I’m so grateful to have all these extra opportunities, not just learning to sew and making friends but meeting new people, working towards a qualification and now this!

“The V&A Dundee experience really has been fantastic. It was particularly good just using our imagination with colours, fabrics and embellishments, rather than following set rules. I never thought we’d get to make a dress that would go on public display within V&A Dundee and I can’t wait to see where it all takes me – I just want to gain even more experience and enjoy what happens next.”

Syrah Jay, textile designer from V&A Dundee’s Learning team, said: “Having worked together with the young people from Kindred Clothing over the course of ten workshops, it’s really amazing to see their wonderful dress included in the exhibition and celebrate their hard work and achievements.

“We focused on skill sharing and passing on the skills we’ve learnt over the years to the group - beginning with a range of more traditional hand embroidery stitches like French knots, chain stitch, running stitch, seed stitch and then moving on to more experimental approaches with applique, sequins, needle felting, needle punching and the application of iron-on vinyls with PVC and flock finishes in a nod to Mary Quant. We really encouraged the group to explore their creative instincts within the framework of a design brief where they were both supported and challenged.  To hear that everyone involved has had a positive experience and benefited from being able to meet regularly at V&A Dundee is absolutely brilliant.”

Camilla Plekker, Chair of Front Lounge, added: “This collaboration with V&A Dundee is a prime example of what can be achieved by taking part in the Kindred Clothing course. The learners, many of whom had never sewn on a button before, deserve huge praise for their dedication and resilience. Seeing their dress come together and now form part of such a prestigious exhibition makes me extremely proud. They’ve essentially created a living part of Dundee’s history in just a few weeks!

“As Kindred Clothing evolves, we hope to provide our learners with access to an even broader range of opportunities, from training and work experience to employment. By capturing and cultivating this fresh, young talent, right here on our doorstep, we can also provide a ready-made labour force to local designers, meeting their needs and contributing to the local economy.”

Dr Jen Ballie, Design for Business Research Manager at V&A Dundee, said: “It’s fantastic to see this inspiring Stitch-School dress embellished in such a magnificent way by Kindred Clothing. The Kindred Clothing group have demonstrated that by learning new skills it is possible to love fashion and update your wardrobe in a sustainable, responsible way.

“I am so happy this beautiful piece of design created by talented young people here in Dundee will now be seen by hundreds more people and hopefully inspire others to make a small change too.”

For more information, visit http://www.kindredclothing.org/ or https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee 

Photo credit:  Julie Howden

V&A Dundee has partnered with designer Kerrie Alexander and textile innovators Halley Stevensons to produce its first limited-edition fashion collaboration.

Museum, maker and manufacturer have united to create the Dundee Raincoat, a modern-day unisex raincoat inspired by the city’s innovation, creativity and resilience.

Designed and hand produced by independent fashion label KerrieALDO, the raincoat is made using waterproof waxed cotton, a performance fabric Halley Stevensons has pioneered the development of for over 150 years, and continue to manufacture at its Baltic Works factory in Dundee.

Following the KerrieALDO design philosophy of slow, sustainable fashion, each of the 20 numbered raincoats and matching bags were hand-cut and crafted using new unique patterns created for the collaboration.  

The unisex fit raincoat, available in navy and orange, features signature KerrieALDO finishes such as coloured trims and an inner patch pocket made from Ancient Dundee Old Heavy Weight Tartan, a pattern which has not been used for 160 years and was recently resurrected by the Ben Nevis Handloom Weavers of Dundee.

Kerrie Alexander, founder of KerrieALDO, said: “Partnering with a design museum and a textile factory to design the ultimate contemporary raincoat has been a brilliant experience.  

“I came across ‘the slicker’, a hooded coat worn by fisherman in the archives at Halley Stevensons, and this has had a big influence on the design of the coat, as has V&A Dundee’s contemporary architecture.   

“As well as using superior fabrics like Halley Stevensons’ waxed cotton, a great design is always about the intricate details such as contrast detailing and pocket placement, right down to the very last stitch. The coat has lots of special details to the inner which illustrate the level of care and attention that has gone into each piece.

“A collar was discussed at an early design meeting, but having grown up in Dundee, I knew a hood was an essential feature of the Dundee Raincoat, to deal with the unpredictable Scottish weather!

“Designing a bag to match was a fun addition to the project. The bag is similar to the coat design in that it comes in two colour-ways with opposing contrast details. The pocket on the bag features a window-like opening to reveal a new colour, which reminded me of looking out to the Tay from the windows of the museum.”

James Campbell, Managing Director at Halley Stevensons, said: “The Dundee Raincoat combines authentic heritage with contemporary style which will be available at V&A Dundee’s design shop. We are delighted to have collaborated on this exceptional piece of design.

“Halley Stevensons is pretty unique in that we work in the same way with large brands as we do with smaller artisan labels such as KerrieALDO. There’s an understanding with our clients that we help them in any way we can, and they are part of our research and development with the feedback they give us in return. It’s an added bonus for us to watch brands develop with our product.

“Our collaborative process is always the same and we are exceptionally proud when we can support younger labels such as Kerrie’s.”

Christian Moire, Director of Operations at V&A Dundee, said:

“Our visitors tell us they are interested in supporting independent designers and shopping for unique items that have a local connection.  Dundee based, Halley Stevensons supply international brands with their high-quality waxed cotton, so it was a natural fit for us to collaborate with them and KerrieALDO. We are excited to launch the Dundee Raincoat this Autumn and to have worked with two very inspiring independent businesses.”

The limited edition run of 20 Dundee Raincoats feature an embroidered number on the inner pocket and are available exclusively from the shop at V&A Dundee, 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee. The coat will retail for £200 and the matching bag for £45.

V&A Dundee is open 10.00 to 17.00, Thursday to Monday, with advance booking now required for all visitors.

Free museum entry can be booked at www.vam.ac.uk/dundee

Photography by:  Julie Howden

Design graduates from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Naomi Cairns and Naomi McIntosh, have won top prizes during Part 1 and 2 of the 2020 New Designers Awards. 

 Product Design graduate, Naomi Cairns has been awarded the Colour in Design Award for her project ‘Affinity’, which uses colour to combat loneliness. Interior Environmental Design graduate, Naomi McIntosh, has won the Creative Conscience and the Business Design Centre for Social Impact Design Award. 

 New Designers exhibits the work of over 3,000 graduates from around the UK. Part 1 focuses on the disciplines of textiles and fashion, costume design, jewellery and precious metal work, ceramics and glass and contemporary design crafts.  

 Part 2 focuses on furniture, product and industrial design, spatial design and interiors, graphic design, illustration and animation and motion and digital arts. 

The prestigious event, which is normally held in London over two weeks, went digital this year to celebrate the Class of 2020 and their tremendous efforts adapting their design process and facing unprecedented challenges.  

 Product Design graduate, Naomi Cairns has been awarded the Colour in Design Award with her project ‘Affinity’ which uses colour to combat loneliness. The product to allows people to send their thoughts and feelings through coloured light sequences which remind the recipient that friends are thinking of them.  

 In a world where we are more isolated from each other than ever, Naomi created a small but significant solution to missing contact with the ones we love.   

 “I am deeply interested in designing products and services to help improve mental health, feelings of loneliness and connection,” said Naomi Cairns. 

 “My project 'Affinity' uses coloured light to let people connect without the need for words. I began developing this idea before Covid-19, so it was important to me how I could adapt my project to help people connect when we are more isolated than we were before.  

 “I'm looking forward to getting mentored by industry experts to help my development get advice for future career opportunities. Winning has given me more confidence to step out my comfort zone and seek more design opportunities.” 

 Naomi McIntosh was this year’s recipient of the Social Impact Award for her project, ‘The Lade’. Naomi created a family-centred community hub designed to help tackle the issue of child poverty. Making use of an abandoned jute mill, it is powered using sustainable technologies and provides support, learning opportunities and life skills to youngsters facing disadvantages. 

 “Being a mother and the personal challenges I have faced inspired me to design something that would help families. I had researched Dundee's child poverty crisis for my dissertation the previous semester which involved speaking with families and third sector organisations in the city.  

 “A few themes arose during my study including extortionate childcare rates locking parents out of employment, children growing up without life skills and access to outdoor play, and families living in isolation without a support network. This motivated me to design a community hub that would address these issues for my thesis project.” 

 Naomi Cairns will be going on to complete an MSc in Product Design at DJCAD with plans to develop her project further. Since graduating Naomi McIntosh is continuing to design for social good through her freelance design work. 

Design graduates from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Naomi Cairns and Naomi McIntosh, have won top prizes during Part 1 and 2 of the 2020 New Designers Awards. 

 Product Design graduate, Naomi Cairns has been awarded the Colour in Design Award for her project ‘Affinity’, which uses colour to combat loneliness. Interior Environmental Design graduate, Naomi McIntosh, has won the Creative Conscience and the Business Design Centre for Social Impact Design Award. 

 New Designers exhibits the work of over 3,000 graduates from around the UK. Part 1 focuses on the disciplines of textiles and fashion, costume design, jewellery and precious metal work, ceramics and glass and contemporary design crafts.  

 Part 2 focuses on furniture, product and industrial design, spatial design and interiors, graphic design, illustration and animation and motion and digital arts. 

The prestigious event, which is normally held in London over two weeks, went digital this year to celebrate the Class of 2020 and their tremendous efforts adapting their design process and facing unprecedented challenges.  

 Product Design graduate, Naomi Cairns has been awarded the Colour in Design Award with her project ‘Affinity’ which uses colour to combat loneliness. The product to allows people to send their thoughts and feelings through coloured light sequences which remind the recipient that friends are thinking of them.  

 In a world where we are more isolated from each other than ever, Naomi created a small but significant solution to missing contact with the ones we love.   

 “I am deeply interested in designing products and services to help improve mental health, feelings of loneliness and connection,” said Naomi Cairns. 

 “My project 'Affinity' uses coloured light to let people connect without the need for words. I began developing this idea before Covid-19, so it was important to me how I could adapt my project to help people connect when we are more isolated than we were before.  

 “I'm looking forward to getting mentored by industry experts to help my development get advice for future career opportunities. Winning has given me more confidence to step out my comfort zone and seek more design opportunities.” 

 Naomi McIntosh was this year’s recipient of the Social Impact Award for her project, ‘The Lade’. Naomi created a family-centred community hub designed to help tackle the issue of child poverty. Making use of an abandoned jute mill, it is powered using sustainable technologies and provides support, learning opportunities and life skills to youngsters facing disadvantages. 

 “Being a mother and the personal challenges I have faced inspired me to design something that would help families. I had researched Dundee's child poverty crisis for my dissertation the previous semester which involved speaking with families and third sector organisations in the city.  

 “A few themes arose during my study including extortionate childcare rates locking parents out of employment, children growing up without life skills and access to outdoor play, and families living in isolation without a support network. This motivated me to design a community hub that would address these issues for my thesis project.” 

 Naomi Cairns will be going on to complete an MSc in Product Design at DJCAD with plans to develop her project further. Since graduating Naomi McIntosh is continuing to design for social good through her freelance design work. 

ALL SIX successful art works in Dundee City Council’s Dundee Windows project have been unveiled to the public for the first time Friday 4th.

The covers are off work by Tracey Stewart, Suzanne Scott from Whimsical Lush, Sarah Chacko, Agency of None, Pamela Scott and Macario De Los Rios in vacant windows in the city centre.

Cityscapes, a sound activated display, an augmented reality pattern and a celebration of nine maidens and the dragon are among the commissions to grace the formerly empty spaces.

Mark Flynn convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee said: “This is the kind of imaginative and creative project that we are starting to see brighten up otherwise unused or unloved bits of the city, and they are becoming more and more popular and sought out.

“These bold and colourful designs that celebrate local people and places are part of our recovery plan and I am sure that they will draw in visitors and locals alike to the city centre.

“Almost 90 high quality entries were received when we called for submissions, showing that despite the obvious challenges it is facing our cultural sector is as creative and vibrant as ever.”

The windows project is one of a number of schemes to brighten up the city’s main shopping areas and supporting the city’s recovery with posters, window displays, street painting and shop trails.

Dundee City Council has joined forces with retailers and artists on a number of initiatives and in the coming weeks as well as Dundee Windows, Castle Street will be temporarily transformed by a colourful design painted onto the cobbles, leading people up a playful route from Shore Terrace to the High Street  -  download MAP HERE.