Amps Dundee is a community of Creative Dundee supporters made up of all sorts of creative folk, both in and out of the creative industries. Every year, we take 50% of all contributions to Amps and put them in the Community Ideas Fund, a collective funding pot that we then open for applications and pitches. Any two or more Amps can apply for it and, if selected by the community, make their collaboration a reality. This year, the funding pot was up to £1,600!

At the Community Ideas Fund Pitch Night last week we heard from three different projects and after voting, Put Your Stamp on Dundee was the chosen project to receive funding this year! Comprised of local artists, makers and illustrators Laura Darling, Pamela Scott, Suzanne Scott, and Louise Kirby, the project invites people in Dundee to design their own postage stamp inspired by the city and to take part in a collaborative community exhibition!

All four participants have contributed to recent art trails in the city like Open/Close, Maggie’s Penguin Parade and Oor Wullie Bucket Trail, with so much love and experience of public and community art they explain:

“We hope the project will inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to explore Dundee and engage with their city in a creative way.”

“We all work from our separate studios in Dundee but our clients could be from anywhere in the world and, while we may sometimes be competing for the same jobs, we do share opportunities if we get a project that we know would suit another illustrator better. Collaborating will help us identify our differences in illustrative style but also highlight our passions for similar things. We can discover different ways of approaching a project, bounce ideas off each other and share best practices.”

Two other projects applied and did an incredible job on the night, one about local currencies being used in Dundee’s creative industries and the other developing digital street art around the city!

You can keep posted on how the project advances here and through #StampDundee. You can expect to see it happening during summer 2020! Meanwhile, do you want to develop a collaboration and apply for the Amps Community Ideas Fund? Join a growing community of makers and collaborators for regular hangouts and meet-ups!

If you are interested in grassroots funding opportunities for your project, check out Dundee Soup! A micro-funding community event by Creative Dundee happening in December!