17th September, 5:30pm at Hapworks_00, 7 Castle Street, DD1 3AA
As we wrap up our CULTIVATE programme, we want to shine a spotlight on local and further afield projects which embrace creativity to engage communities and respond to social and climate justice issues – creating a sense of community, agency and hope for future thinking and making.
The evening will include short presentations to introduce each featured project, followed by two panel discussions, inviting creative practitioners to share more about their processes, experiences and learnings.
Rooting Creativity in Social & Climate Justice
Tue 17 September 2024, 5.30–7.30pm
Hapworks_00, 7 Castle Street, DD1 3AA
Tickets are free but booking is essential.
Doors open at 5pm for nibbles and drinks with the event starting at 5.30pm.
This event is mainly aimed at creative practitioners and organisations who want to make similar creative projects and approaches happen, and learn from their peers. The discussions will be inspired by our key learnings from running the CULTIVATE creative practitioner commissions, and asking what are the conditions needed to facilitate and develop good practices.
Read more about our key learnings in Ripple Effects: Reflections and Learning from CULTIVATE, produced by our learning partner, tialt//there is an alternative, in close collaboration with the producer, wider Creative Dundee team and commissioned creative practitioners to reflect and share more about the programme’s approaches, processes and impacts.
Vinishree Verma is a designer and creative practitioner passionate about the circular economy, climate, and environment design. She brings along a trans-disciplinary pool of experience through research, co-design methodologies, and design thinking. Read more about Vini’s CULTIVATE project: Dear Earth, engaging with people of diverse ethnic backgrounds and giving them agency to realise, express and share their climate responses through a creative medium.
Ink Asher Hemp (they/them) is a freelance artist, facilitator, and (trouble) maker. Crafting work about care within our climate crisis informed by queerness and disability justice. They work across the disciplines of performance poetry and photomontage in solo and participatory projects that aspire to navigate accessibility in ways that are playful, honest, and politically articulate. Watch some of Ink’s work as Eden Court’s Artist for Change: Climate Crisis.
Jek McAllister is an artist, facilitator, cook and gardener based in Dundee. She currently works at Ninewells Community Garden and in many freelance capacities. She also runs (alongside fellow DJCAD graduates Finlay Hall and Jamie Donald) Wooosh Gallery, Dundee’s sexiest, most haunted car park gallery that is open 24/7. She recently led Alternative (Art) School, a new pilot project led by Forgan Arts in partnership with Madras College – a rich mix of art, craft, and horticultural workshops led by established artists which took 19 students, aged 13-15 years, on a journey through traditional and contemporary practices.
Khadea Santi is an artist, arts educator and curator who seeks to create an open and collaborative practice where everyone has access to creative opportunities, and to have their work seen and valued – gaining confidence and transformative experiences. Her recent projects include A View From Lochend Park (a photography project with Edinburgh Young Carers), Youth Arts Takeover at Fruitmarket, with Tiny Changes. She was also the Lead Artist for Edinburgh Art Festival community arts projects in 2022/2023.
Conor McConville is a graduate of contemporary art, with a background in painting, photography and filmmaking. He’s also Recovery & Support Coordinator at Feeling Strong, where he’s been leading art projects, as ways to help young people unpack their emotions and help form strong foundations in their own recovery. He recently led Synthesis (2024), a multiphase project designed by and for young people that raised awareness on eco-anxiety and how to use creativity as a tool to better our mental health.
Jaz Grady is an artist, illustrator and photographer based in Perthshire. She runs youth based art workshops using both traditional and non-traditional mediums, helping young adults to express themselves and their ideas through art. Read more about Jaz’s CULTIVATE Case Study: Project Echo, facilitating spaces for young adults across Perthshire to come together through play and making, find agency or power within themselves, and create opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have.
We’ll also hear from Douglas Lonie from Dundee-based tialt // there is an alternative, a social research organisation working with creative and cultural organisations across the UK and Europe. As a cross-disciplinary team of researchers, artists, and designers they co-design creative and inclusive research methods suited for exploring the broader impacts of cultural programmes and activities. Read more about their CULTIVATE Learning Journey and their full report: CULTIVATE Ripple Effects: Creativity and Climate Justice.
Led by Creative Dundee over three years, CULTIVATE brought together creative practitioners and community groups across the Tay region to explore climate justice in a practical and meaningful way.
CULTIVATE was part of Culture Collective, a network of participatory arts projects across Scotland, shaped by local communities alongside artists and creative organisations. Funded by the Scottish Government through Creative Scotland.
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