Our blog series regularly invites guests to share their thoughts on different aspects of life in Dundee, their own practice, and anything in between. This blog about Fun a Day Dundee comes from their Assistant Coordinator Hannah Wingfield.

Fun A Day Dundee brings fun, creativity and community every day in January. The concept is simple: pick something fun to do every day (or however often you want) in January, document it (as much as you wish) and share it (as much as you like). 

Participants can engage with each others’ work online (and, in normal times, share it in a real life group exhibition in the Spring – for 2020 and 2021 this moved online) which fosters an atmosphere of engagement, connection and mutual encouragement. Participants can be of any age, this year in particular many young families have used it as a way to help keep children busy while we are all at home together (or for parents to find some well-deserved quiet time each day!).

The project is run by a small team of local artists and creators, led by Sam Sherriff; and as you can guess from the name, the group is based in Dundee. Many participants come from surrounding areas such as Angus, Fife and Perth & Kinross, and people anywhere in the world can take part online. 

This year we have had a record number of participants (over 130!), and our social media channels and hashtags are bursting with joy and creativity! While many people choose to create visual art using traditional mediums, such as this project by @size3art on instagram:

We also have pottery (by @justjudithdesign on instagram):

…vegan baking (by @jillyjillydesign on instagram):

… pyrography (by @kirstyangove_art on instagram):

… and paper cutting (by @aprilblackdesigns on instagram):

… as well as many other projects including: poetry inspired by 31 different addresses a participant has lived at, weaving, digital art, photography, watercolour painting, journaling, printmaking, sewing, creative writing… the list is endless! 

It is the connection and community of Fun A Day Dundee that makes the group really shine. There is no competitiveness, just lots of people having fun together. Participants range from professional artists challenging themselves to work every day in January to people learning a skill for the first time. As participants in earlier years have said:

“Fun A Day really inspires me each January to be creative in an every-day-down-to-earth way!  It’s a fresh start to the year, and it’s an added bonus to see what others come up with during their creative month!” – Ed Muirhead

“I enjoyed planning the project, researching ideas and making the pieces in different materials. I loved going to the social meets, meeting others and hearing about their projects. I liked the Zoom meeting for the online opening of the exhibition.” – Pauline Lavery

Despite the unique challenges covid keeps throwing our way, the Fun A Day Dundee team has found ways to use technology to keep the fun going and bring people together, whether that be social media engagement or live video sessions. Coordinator Sam Sherriff says: ”The creative sessions have been lovely. I miss getting the chance to chat to participants (in person), so they’ve been important to me this year. It’s also been a great excuse to make time for my artwork whilst chatting to others online”. 

It’s not just for January either – the Fun A Day Team last year started a sister project called FADD Creatives which keeps the fun going all year long with social media connection and creative prompts.

While many aspects of Fun A Day remain consistent over the years, 2021’s project has shown us that despite not being able to be physically in the same space as each other, we can still interact, whether that be through the obvious channels of social media and video calls; or connecting through art and feeling part of a larger project.