Creative Balance launches groundbreaking research into BPOC mental health in Scotland’s Creative Industries.

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Creative Balance, led by We Are Here Scotland, is conducting Scotland’s first comprehensive research exploring how BPOC-led creative spaces can support mental health and wellbeing for racialised professionals in the creative sector.

Building on the invaluable insights shared by their 10-person steering group and case studies, they are now expanding this community-led research and calling for Black and Global Majority creatives and cultural professionals to express their interest in participating in group interviews.

There are two opportunities to join online interviews on Mon 29 September and Mon 6 October, alongside an in-person group interview in Dundee on Mon 22 September.

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Key Details:

• Participants will join a 3-hour creative workshop using collage and mapping, imagining the BPOC creative spaces Scotland needs and providing space to share their experiences.
• Participants will receive 2 hours of free therapy with Black/POC practitioners, fully covered travel expenses and community meals (for in-person groups), materials for creative activities, aftercare pack and information for ongoing support, and the opportunity to connect with other BPOC communities.
• This opportunity is for Black, Global Majority, and racialised* creatives and cultural professionals (18+) working in Scotland’s creative industries. (*The term racialised is used as it reflects a process whereby people are categorised by the white-led systems they exist within.)

Expression of interest deadline: 5pm, Mon 1 September

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We Are Here is a Community Interest Company with an aim to amplify the voices BPoC (Black People and People of Colour) in particular Artists and Creatives who reside in Scotland with opportunities to share their work, connect with each other, and have their voices heard within the wider art community.

The sixth edition of contemporary arts festival Present Futures arrives at DCA and Dundee Rep Theatre this September!

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Contemporary arts event Present Futures comes to Dundee on Wed 10 and Thur 11 September! Over two days this special satellite edition of the festival will bring together a programme of performance, sound, film, visual arts and discussion curated by acclaimed choreographer Colette Sadler and produced by Feral Arts.

Now in its sixth edition, Present Futures Dundee will explore the complex entanglement and interdependencies of human and “other than” human as we enter collectively into precarious and unknown futures in the wake of ecological transition and crisis.

The two day festival will feature contributions from artists including SHHE, Bishop May Down, Farrah Fawcett, Laura Moorhouse, Ian Kaler, Samir Kennedy, Suk-Jun Kim and Colette Sadler.

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Present Futures programme:

• Dýra by SHHE // Wed 10 Sep, 5pm & 6pm:
  A sonic installation evoking landscapes and liminal states, influenced by the tranquility of Iceland’s Dýrafjörður fjord.
• Futures of Listening // Wed 10 Sep, 7.15pm:
  In this panel discussion, Suk-Jun Kim, professor of electronic music and sound art at the University of Aberdeen, is joined by sound artist and producer SHHE and choreographer and multi-disciplinary artist Samir Kennedy to explore how our listening will change in the future and how those possible futures of listening will transform us and our engagement with others.
• From Stage to Screen: Auto-Fiction and Embodied Storytelling // Wed 10 Sep, 8.45pm:
  Choreographer, Film Maker and Performer Ian Kaler explores the conjunctions of autobiography and fiction in the form of a screening and talk.
• >>Body Building<< – From Prototype to Archetype // Thu 11 Sep, 10am:
  In this workshop, Colette Sadler will offer participants insights into her dance and choreographic methods. Suitable for professional and semiprofessional dancers, movers and performance makers.
• Embodied Storytelling // Thu 11 Sep, 3pm:
  A practical workshop session with Ian Kaler sharing the foundations of his movement and performance practice, exploring what makes us move, literally and metaphorically speaking.
• To Be Kept by the Earth // Thu 11 Sep, 5.30pm & 6pm:
  A live performance and installation by GRIPPD Art Company, created by Farrah Fawcett. Presented in the round, the work invites audiences into an atmospheric world of breath, movement, and grounded presence.
• Conversation with Laura Moorhouse: Risographs, Kinship and Care // Thu 11 Sep, 6pm:
  An informal sharing event with Present Futures Risograph Associate Laura Moorhouse – an opportunity for audiences to ask questions and share their thoughts on ideas of kinship, social permaculture and radical care.
• The Violet Hour and Conversations with Eve // Thu 11 Sep, 7.15pm & 9pm:
  A double bill performance of new dance and movement work from artists Collette Sadler and Bishop May Down.

The majority of the Present Futures Programme will be free but ticketed or a small ticket price. The performance double bill at Dundee Rep on Thu 11 September is ticketed on a sliding scale and you can choose what to pay based on your financial circumstances.

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Present Futures Dundee is funded by Creative Scotland. Supported by Generator Projects, Dundee Rep, Scottish Dance Theatre, Dundee & Angus College, Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) and Goethe Institut.

Forgan Arts Centre open applications for the first in a new series of socially and ecologically engaged artist residencies.

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Forgan Arts Centre are seeking artists looking to develop an ambitious new project in collaboration with their communities, marking a new chapter in imagining An Arts Centre as a Garden – a shared, sentient ecology of people, plants, and ideas.

Taking place over 40 days between October 2025 – March 2026, the residency is rooted in the theme of Talking Forests, exploring intergenerational and interspecies exchange. They welcome proposals that connect with their neighbours, classes, allotments, garden activities and wider programme, and are interested in projects which can become part of the living fabric of the centre.

The residency is open to individual artists, as well as duos and collaborative groups of up to four. They are seeking artists with a collaborative and socially engaged practice, experience working creatively with communities, and an interest in environmental and ecological themes.

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Key Details:

• Successful applicants will receive a £15,000 fee for minimum 40 days work, a £10,000 project budget, and separate access budget.
• The residency offers accommodation and studio on site in The Gardener’s Cottage, alongside access to staff, classrooms, garden, tools, and tutor support.
• Artists will have the opportunity to contribute an artwork to The Gardener’s Cottage and/or Garden.

Deadline for applications: 12noon, Mon 1 September

If you’re interested in this role and would like more information, or would like to apply but feel there are barriers limiting your ability to do so, please get in touch with their team by emailing curator@forganartscentre.co.uk.

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Forgan Arts Centre is a rural home for the development of traditional and contemporary art and craft and community activity in Newport-on-Tay, North East Fife. The centre was established by local-residents in 1974 and they remain community-led to this day, with representation from local people at all levels of the organisation.

Take One Action Film Festivals returns for 2025 with Real Utopias coming to Dundee this November.

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Returning for its 17th edition, Take One Action Film Festivals have announced their 2025 theme, Real Utopias, and an inspiring programme bringing communities together to harness the transformative potential of film and storytelling for collective change.

The festival will arrive in Dundee from Fri 7- Sun 9 November exploring a more just and liberated future through stories of communities taking renewable energy into their own hands, decolonising a library, celebrating trans joy, paying tribute to local radical histories and more. The programme promises glimpses of utopian futures already within reach and explores how we can grow these futures in Scotland, together.

To make their events more accessible, Take One Action operate a sliding scale ticket policy with attendees choosing what to pay based on their personal circumstances from £0-£20. When you pay a higher price for a ticket, you help subsidise a ticket for someone on a lower income.

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Real Utopias Dundee programme:

• Radical Library Tours: Current Utopias // Fri 7 Nov, 3–4pm: A chance to see all the opportunities to think, create and imagine with Dundee Central Library.
• Radical Library Tours: Past Utopias // Fri 7 Nov, 4–5pm: Discover some past utopias throughout Dundee’s history, and how they shaped the city we know today, at Dundee Central Library.
• Power Station // Fri 7 Nov, 6–8.25pm: Two artists and activists are on a mission to power their street with solar energy, one home at a time.
• How to Build a Library // Sat 8 Nov, 11.30am–1pm: In Nairobi, Kenya, two women are on a mission to transform and decolonise a dilapidated library into a public space that truly serves its community.
• Red Skirts on Clydeside // Sat 8 Nov, 3–5.30pm: A documentary about the hidden stories of women’s activism in the Glasgow Rent Strikes of 1915, presented by Living Rent.
• NIÑXS // Sat 8 Nov, 6-8.30pm: In this joyous documentary co-authored by its subject, fifteen-year-old Karla tells her coming-of-age story as a young trans girl in Tepoztlán, Mexico.
• Knit’s Island // Sun 9 Nov (times TBC): Three curious film-makers step virtually into a post-apocalyptic online game, and learn from other players how survivalist gameplay can create a sense of community.

An exciting opportunity to join the Cooper Gallery team as their new Event Production Assistant, supporting their public engagement programme.

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DJCAD’s Cooper Gallery are looking for a new Event Production Assistant to join their small team and support the production and delivery of the public engagement programme for their 2025–2026 exhibitions.

The is an exciting opportunity for an early career producer, curator, or artworker to develop their hands-on skills and experience in all aspects of contemporary art event production, from planning and coordination to delivery and evaluation.

The Event Production Assistant will be focused on the production and delivery of The Ignorant Art School Sit-in Curriculum #5 events programme and the public events programme of the 2026 spring exhibition.

They are looking for a motivated individual interested in working with Cooper Gallery’s distinctive approach to public event production and whose practice in the arts would benefit from this experience. A keen interest in contemporary art and visual culture with a desire to develop a carer in the arts sector is a must.

Job Details:

• Part-time, fixed-term position working for a total of 44 days at 2 days per week.
• £16.22 per hour (Grade 5 equivalent £26,338 pro rata).
• Applicants must be based in Dundee and Angus, or the surrounding areas.

Deadline for applications: 5pm, Sun 24 August 2025

Apply now for the Sound of Young Scotland Award – a career-changing opportunity to create and release your debut album!

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Supported by Help Musicians, the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative through Creative Scotland and Youth Music, the Sound of Young Scotland Award exists to drive Scottish music of the future by giving an annual award to a young and emerging artist to facilitate the creation of their debut album.

The winner of the Sound of Young Scotland Award will receive a funding package worth up to £10,000 to support the recording and production of their debut album, with previous winners including No Windows, Berta Kennedy and LVRA.

2025’s funding package includes:

• Cash grants totalling £6,000 to cover studio hire costs, session musician fees, equipment rentals and more.
• A performance slot at 2026’s SAY Award ceremony, one of the biggest nights in Scotland’s musical calendar.
• A bespoke art prize from The SAY Award Design Commission.
• 6 hours of one-to-one business advice from industry experts arranged via Help Musicians
• Online meet-ups with other Help Musicians’ awardees and industry guests.
• Invites to online peer drop-in spaces with other musicians and access to a healthy practice session delivered by BAPAM.
• A run of up to 250 vinyl pressings of the album created via the prize; provided in-kind by Seabass Vinyl.
• A recording session with KNDRD (Scotty Anderson & Jack Cochrane)

Applying artists must be aged 18–25, be a Scottish Artist with an active career of at least 1 year, and not have previously released an album or have significant backing from a record label, publisher or private investor.

Applications close: midnight, Fri 22 August 2025.

Here’s a full breakdown of opportunities, events and content available in Dundee over August! Subscribe to our News Mail Out and receive updates each month.

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From our Amps Supporters

• Pick up your pencils and a cuppa with Jo Craig at her EH9 Espresso drawing club on Thu 7 and 21 August! All are welcome to join, with special guests also popping by to share some drawing inspiration and material.
• Join The Space Between, a traditional storytelling session with Erin Farley on Thu 7 August, for the tale of a tangled web of magic and trickery spun by the Green Man of Knowledge.
• New at Volk Gallery! Khadea Santi shares ‘lilac dreams.*.shared visions‘ featuring 50 fortune tellers with written prompts for guiding a poetic offering. Vending until Sat 6 September.
• Hand-made models from Claire Morwood’s game ‘Asterism’ are on display at Central Library as UNESCO City of Design’s Object of the Month! Pop down to see them in person and find out more about Claire’s space adventure.

Events

• Head to the sprawling grounds of Hospitalfield on Sat 9 August for their Summer Festival: Pollinate and a day of feasting, learning and dancing to a packed music programme produced by SHHE!
• Neuk Collective are exploring funding for artists on Sun 24 August at their next ND Artist Meet-Up – a chilled monthly online space for neurodivergent artists to meet and share.
• Drop in and Play returns to DCA on Sat 30 August with local game developers sharing their newest projects, alongside the chance to get hands-on with the games produced during Abertay University’s 2025 DARE Academy!
• The Yard Market is popping up in Broughty Ferry on Sat 23 August and back in Dundee on Sat 30 August with a packed line-up of Scottish makers and local favourites.

Workshops

• The Dundee Playwrights group in Creative Central and are looking for new members to join them for informal readings and sharing. If you have a script you’d like to share, join them for their next session on Wed 6 August.
• Try your hand at ceramics decorating with Dundee Ceramics Workshop at CRAFTED: Ceramics Showcase on Sat 9 August! Take your pick and paint a pre-made Bowl or Mug to create your own unique piece.
• Spend three days in the DCA Print Studio exploring the art of stone lithography. Masterclass: Stone Lithography begins on Fri 15 August and takes you through the full process with expert guidance from artist Calum Wallis.
• Head to the Maxwell Centre Gardens on Mon 18 August to learn the magic of cyanotype at their Sun Printing and Zine Making workshop!

Opportunities

• Young and emerging Scottish artists can now apply for the Sound of Young Scotland Award – a career-changing opportunity to create and release your debut album with a support package worth £10,000. Applications close midnight Fri 22 August.
• Cooper Gallery at DJCAD are looking for a new Event Production Assistant to help support the production and delivery of their public engagement programme. A great opportunity for an early career producer, curator, or artworker – applications close at 5pm, Sun 24 August.
• The Jupiter+ Orbit Youth Council is a collective for 16 to 18 year olds, giving them space to develop a creative voice and be at the helm of decision making. With Jupiter+ arriving in Dundee in September, applications are now open for the latest iteration.
• D.I.C.E Europe is coming to Scotland in September and SGDA are hosting a Games Day in Dundee to celebrate! You can now register your interest to attend the event or submit your work for exhibitor opportunities.

Exhibitions

• Visit the Macro Micro Studio at Dundee Botanic Gardens before Sun 17 Aug for ‘Urban Colour Blok‘, a Living Library Exhibition featuring work from Scottish artists, designers, spoken word artists, and musicians.
• Opening on Mon 11 August at the Lamb Gallery, ‘Jamaican Journeys: Identity, Place and Conversations through Art‘ brings together a diverse and vibrant collection of visual art from some of Jamaica’s most celebrated artists.
• Now showing at V&A Dundee, ‘Thread Memory: Embroidery from Palestine’ explores the history of Palestinian dress and marks 45 years of Dundee’s twin city relationship with Nablus, bringing together dresses, headdresses, accessories, and archival photography from Palestine.
• Explore the incredible work of this year’s postgraduates in a nine-day showcase of extraordinary art and design at the DJCAD Masters Show from Sat 23–Sun 31 August.

Content

• Local band Loom (aka Rachel Simpson, Claire Gorman and Seth Bennett) join an incredible line-up of musicians on compilation album ‘For Gaza with Love’ which is raising money for the PalMed Academy in Gaza.
• Verdant Works have released a fascinating series of short-videos at the International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition with photographer Ray Cox sharing his insights into the finalists’ stunning work.
• Dundee Print Collective have been back in the Print Studio for their ‘Unfolding Correspondence’ project, setting printers the task of a screen print edition inspired by the theme ‘correspondence’. Take a look at some of the first designs taking shape!
• Poet and activist-scholar Dr Nat Raha, shares her reading list with Cooper Gallery for the next What I am Reading Now…, offering texts to reaffirm and reconceptualise the ‘human’ in the face of the continuing horrors in Palestine.

Subscribe to our monthly News Mail Out for more events, features, opportunities and exciting content from Dundee!

Drop in and Play returns to DCA this August with local game developers sharing their newest projects!

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Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) join forces with Ninja Kiwi and Abertay University for the next Drop in and Play, bringing you the latest and most exciting works-in-progress from local game developers and studios.

This year, there’s also a special twist to the event with an exclusive opportunity to get hands-on with games from Abertay University’s 2025 DARE Academy! The DARE Academy games design competition gives six teams of talented students the opportunity to spend the summer creating their own game with support from expert mentors. Students work together across a range of disciplines to create game prototypes – all of which will be available to play at Drop in and Play.

With a selection of games to suit every taste, Drop in and Play offers an afternoon of FREE entertainment and inspiration, suitable for gamers and newbies alike aged 10+.

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When
Sat 30 August
12–4pm

Where
DCA Meeting Room & Ground Floor
Dundee Contemporary Arts
152 Nethergate
Dundee, DD1 4DY

Explore the incredible work of DJCAD’s graduating Masters students in this nine-day showcase of extraordinary art and design.

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The DJCAD Masters Show returns for 2025 with over 80 students across ten varied programmes displaying dynamic, innovative and imaginative work across the university studios and Cooper Gallery. With exhibits ranging from fine art, animation, and curatorial practice to items designed with health, innovation and functionality in mind there is so much to explore.

The show is free and open to the public from Sat 23 to Sun 31 August, with a late opening on Thu 28 August until 8pm. Several free events will also be running alongside the main exhibition, giving insights into study at DJCAD, and opportunities to hear from existing students about their work. 

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When
Sat 23–Sun 31 Aug, 10am–4pm
Late opening: Thu 26 Aug, 10am–8pm

Where
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design
13 Perth Road
Dundee
DD1 4HT

Join Hospitalfield for a day-long event of feasting, learning and dancing across their gardens, fields and studios.

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Head to Angus and the sprawling grounds of Hospitalfield for their Summer Festival and a day celebrating the food and drink production of Angus, alongside a diverse programme of workshops, talks, art and live music.

The festival aims to create shared moments of learning, discussion, dancing, food and joy, with a focus this year on the theme of Pollination and what we can creatively learn from microscopic plant matter. The arts and events programme has been curated with Laura Mansfield of FEAST Journal, alongside a live music lineup curated by SHHE.

Standard tickets are priced at £18 with camp site reservations available for £10 and children under 12 able to attend for free. Tickets allow access to all the events, workshops and music throughout the day.

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When
Sat 9 August
11am–10pm

Where
Hospitalfield House
Westway
Arbroath
DD11 2NH

The final round of funding for Immersive Arts, a three-year programme encouraging artists to engage with immersive technologies, is now open with grants of £5,000, £20,000 and £50,000 available!

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Immersive Arts is a groundbreaking UK-wide programme designed to help artists develop their practice using immersive technologies (virtual, extended, and augmented realities), working to break down barriers and making what can be an exclusive field of practice much more accessible.

With £3.6 million in funding available between 2024 and 2027, they’ll be supporting over 200 artists across the UK and providing the opportunity to explore, experiment, or expand how they work within this exciting field.

To help with the application process, Immersive Arts are running two online support events. Join them on Thu 24 July from 4–5pm for a Funding Webinar to hear more about this funding round and ask any questions, and on Mon 28 July from 4–5pm for an Access Drop-in to find out more about support available for artists with access requirements.

Applications close, Mon 29 September 2025.

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How to apply:
There are three funding levels available and applicants should apply for the full amounts available in each (ie £5,000, £20,000 or £50,000). You do not require match funding to apply.

Explore – £5,000

• Ideal for artists with little or no experience in immersive arts; individuals, small creative collectives or organisations (10 people or fewer).
• Designed to help artists with early stage exploration of immersive technologies, developing basic knowledge or skills, experiencing immersive artworks, meeting potential collaborators, or expanding their networks.
• Successful applicants will be supported for up to six months by the Immersive Arts producers and wider network.
• Applicants will not be expected to produce a piece of work with the funding but will be asked to share their learning.

Experiment – £20,000

• Ideal for artists who are ready to get their ideas off the ground and test their work with an audience; individuals, small creative collectives or organisations (10 people or fewer).
• Designed to help artists create experimental works, proofs-of-concept or prototypes to test out with small audiences, experiment with immersive technology in a way that develops their practice, and consider access, diversity and inclusion relevant to their project.
• Successful applicants will be supported for up to nine months with training through Development Labs and opportunities to test and refine prototypes with small audiences.

Expand – £50,000

• Ideal for artists with an immersive project in development; creative collectives and organisations (of 50 people or fewer).
• Designed to help artists significantly progress existing projects or prototypes, bring well-developed concepts to fruition with comprehensive support, enhance audience engagement and reach, and consider access, diversity and inclusion relevant to the project.
• Successful applicants will be supported for up to twelve months with bespoke mentoring from Crossover Labs, the Immersive Arts partnership and network, support to develop and implement their project, opportunities to enhance and scale the impact of their work.

Deadline for all applications: Mon 29 September 2025

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Immersive Arts is run by a collaborative consortium of ten partners who are embedded within the UK’s immersive arts and research communities, and committed to creating positive change in the sector – Pervasive Media Studio, University of Bristol, Cryptic, Nerve Centre, Wales Millennium Centre, Watershed, Crossover Labs, Unlimited, XR Diversity Initiative, and Immerse UK.

Changemakers Dundee SOUPs are back with a bigger £1000 funding pot to help bring community projects to life!

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Based on the popular Detroit SOUP model with a local twist, Dundee SOUP is a micro-funding event celebrating and supporting creative community projects in Dundee.

Dundee Changemakers Hub are returning to the SOUP format, bigger and better, with three funding pots of £1000 to help climate and social justice ideas have a greater impact for people across the city. The first of four SOUP events will take place on Wed 23 July, covering projects for Central Dundee (Maryfield and Coldside) with SOUPs for Dundee East, West and North to follow later in the year.

If you have an idea or a project that needs some support, this is your chance to pitch for £1000! Pitch submissions close at midnight, Tue 15 July with presenters selected and notified by Thu 17 July.

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How to apply:

• Dundee SOUP is open to anyone with an idea or project which is collaborative, inclusive and impacting social or climate action in Dundee.
• For the Central Dundee SOUP your project should cover one of the following areas: Maryfield (City Centre, Stobswell, Baxter Park, Woodside, Blackscroft, Springhill) or Coldside (Dudhope, Hilltown, Law, The Glens, Coldside, Fairmuir).
• Participants need to be a member of Dundee Changemakers to submit an idea but it’s free and easy to join when completing the submission form.
• You must be available to pitch your idea at the Dundee SOUP on Wed 23 July, 6–8pm.
• Complete the form linked below by midnight, Tue 15 July to apply.

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When & Where:

Come along on the night to share some food, hear five short presentations from local people with creative ideas to benefit their community, and vote for your favourite project. The event is free to attend with the opportunity to add to a donation pot which will be split between two of the remaining projects.

Dundee SOUP – Changemakers Dundee Central
Wed 23 July, 6–8pm
CANVAS
Ure Street
Dundee, DD1 5HZ

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Dundee’s Changemakers Hub is being designed and delivered by a collective of four local community organisations: Transition Dundee, The Maxwell Centre, ScrapAntics, and Uppertunity, offering support, events, workshops and micro-grants to connect and amplify collective community action.

The Hub is part of a growing national network of Climate Action Hubs funded by the Scottish Government’s Climate Action Fund, which aim to build local awareness of the climate emergency, develop local plans, help groups take up funding opportunities, and contribute to a Just Transition.

Game makers! Explore your creativity with others at this playful, weekend-long game jam event.

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Game designer Claire Morwood and creative producer Susie Buchan are bringing together anyone curious to collaborate and have some fun at Fuse Jam! 5. This weekend-long event invites participants to make whatever a ‘game’ means to them – whether you make them all the time or you haven’t tried yet.

Each group will be given a theme to spark ideas and time together to create a digital or physical game, before coming together to share their work in progress or finished game. People of all skill levels are encouraged to join, including complete beginners!

Fuse Jam! 5 is free to attend but booking is required to secure your spot.

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When & Where

Fri 1 Aug, 5.30pm–7.30pm: Dundee Central Library, Steps Theatre

Sat 2 Aug, 9.30am–5pm: Dundee Central Library, Creative Central area

Sun 3 Aug, 11.30am–5pm: ScrapAntics, Community Space, Level 2 Wellgate Centre

In order to ensure the team-forming accommodates everyone, please aim to arrive promptly on Fri 1 Aug.

Generator Projects is seeking submissions for short films to be screened as part of their upcoming Summer Programme!

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Generator Projects have shared an open call for short films to be screened during their 2025 Summer Programme. The programme will consist of a series of events, workshops, and various artistic endeavours culminating in a celebratory showcase. This will include a dedicated screening event in late August for the accepted short films.

The closing showcase will bring together writers, musicians, multi-disciplinary artists, and filmmakers to share work accomplished for the Summer Programme and the joy of the creative process. This will be a great opportunity for anyone wishing to showcase their video-based work in a festive event made by and for the local creative community.

All are welcome to apply regardless of background and experience!

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How to apply:

• Generator are seeking submissions from creatives of all backgrounds – filmmakers, video-based artists, animators, and more.
• Submissions should have a run-time of no more than six minutes.
• Artists are asked to kindly consider if their work contains highly sensitive or distressing material. Generator also ask artists to consider how the use of generative AI is harmful to the environment and exploitative to the artistic community.
• To apply, complete the short application form and provide your work as a .mp4 file to mail@generatorprojects.co.uk with the subject line “Short Film Submission”.

Submissions close: midnight, Wed 23 July

Apply before Tue 15 July to design and produce the fourteen awards for this year’s Scottish Album of the Year Award!

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The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award is coming to Dundee for their 2025 award ceremony in November! Now, they’re looking for a Dundee-based designer, artist or maker to create bespoke prizes for this year’s awards.

The commission fee of £3000 must cover the design and manufacture of fourteen awards which should highlight the enduring links between music, art and design in Scotland. Previous makers have fabricated jesmonite arches, used natural slate veneer, and created sand-cast sculptures using recycled glass.

The creative chosen and the prizes they produce will be amplified across SAY Award social channels, showcased at this year’s SAY Award ceremony at the Caird Hall, and supported by city partners, Leisure and Culture Dundee, V&A Dundee, Dundee City Council and UNESCO Dundee City of Design.

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How to apply:

• The Design Commission invites Expressions of Interest from artists, designers or makers living or working in the Dundee City Council area.
• At this stage in the process they are not asking for ideas/sketches or concepts.
• Applicants should demonstrate what format their concept of an award would take, their proposed materials, and how they would embed sustainability at the forefront of the design and production process.
• Applicants are encouraged to take inspiration from the city and region of Dundee.
• Applicants are invited to reflect on the concept of what an ‘award’ is in the context of the climate emergency, whilst celebrating how music and design elevate our lives – thinking outside the box and steering away from a ‘traditional’ award.
• Whatever format the awards take, it is required that they are visible for the ceremony’s live audience, carry the award ‘name’, and work for the event photography. Suggested minimum height per award is 25cm.

Deadline for submissions: midnight, Tue 15 July 2025

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The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award is Scotland’s national music prize; celebrating Scottish music, and the cultural impact and contribution of outstanding Scottish albums. Placing artistic merit before sales history, genre or record label affiliation, The SAY Award dispenses with categorisation, opting instead for the creation of a bold, unifying platform from which Scotland’s most outstanding albums – across all genres – can be celebrated, discovered and championed.

Dundee will play host to The SAY Award for the next three years with the 2025 ceremony taking place at Caird Hall on Thu 6 November.

Jupiter Artland Foundation are searching for a Learning Coordinator and a Film Editing Technician to help support their educational outreach programme Jupiter+ Dundee.

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Bringing world class art to the high street and the young people of Scotland, Jupiter+ is a national programme aimed at fostering creativity and digital literacy through innovative, hands-on learning experiences. The Jupiter Artland Foundation are now searching for both a Learning Coordinator and a Green Screen Technician to help support Jupiter+ when it arrives in Dundee later this year.

The Learning Coordinator will deliver educational visits to artwork installations, facilitate workshops and support learners in developing critical thinking, alongside completing administrative tasks to aid the running of the Learning Studio.

The Film Editing Technician will support the delivery of a structured green screen workshop for secondary school pupils, working closely with educators and facilitators to operate the technical setup, troubleshoot issues, and help students to create video projects.

Applications for both roles close at 5pm, Thu 10 July with full job descriptions available to downloaded at the links below.

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Learning Coordinator:

• Salary: £26,000 – £28,000
• Fixed term, five-month contract working five days per week (Mon-Fri during school hours)
• Applicants should have strong experience facilitating creative learning experiences, excellent administrative skills and keen attention to detail, good communication skills, and a commitment to collaborative working.
• Experience with green screen tech, digital storytelling, or media production in an education setting is desirable.
• Knowledge of or connection to Dundee/its communities, and contemporary art, art education, creative facilitation or arts outreach is also desirable.

Apply with your cover letter and CV by 5pm, Thu 10 July

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Film Editing Technician

• Salary: £26,000
• Fixed term from Sept–Dec, working five days per week (Mon-Fri during school hours)
• Applicants should have proven experience with green screen technology and video production tools and equipment, experience working with young people, and be skilled in group management and problem-solving.
• Experience delivering creative media workshops and familiarity with Scottish Curriculum for Excellence is desirable.

Apply with your cover letter and CV by 5pm, Thu 10 July

Here’s a full breakdown of opportunities, events and content available in Dundee over July! Subscribe to our News Mail Out and receive updates each month.

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From our Amps Supporters

• Join Glasgow Zine Library online on the evening of Wed 2 July for a listening event co-hosted by dundee radio club, exploring the radical potential of listening as a tool for environmental awareness and action.
• Learn the art of map making from start to finish with multi-media artist Hollis Crowe in a hands-on two-week workshop starting Thu 3 July.
• Generator Projects are looking to recruit some new Operational Committee members! If you have a particular interest in supporting their associates programme, community space/zine library and archive, they’d love to hear from you before Sun 6 July.
• Game makers! Get your tickets to join Fuse Jam! 5 from Fri 1 Aug and explore your creativity with others in a playful game jam format across this weekend-long event.

Events

• Head to Dundee’s Botanic Garden on Sat 12 July for Morphology, City Flowers Garden Studio’s first festival featuring a packed afternoon of performance celebrating art, music and Scots spoken word.
• Tea Green Events’ Summer Design Market returns to V&A Dundee from Fri 25 July, filled to the brim with some of Scotland’s best independent designers and makers.
• Lughnasadh Music and Art Festival is returning to Forgan Arts Centre on Sat 2 Aug! Grab your tickets before they’re gone to see Kathryn Joseph, Sacred Paws, corto.alto, Dead Pony and more perform live from the centre’s stunning gardens.
• Digital Skills Education are running a practical intro to AI day-event on Fri 29 Aug and currently have fully-funded places available for artists and creatives living or working in Dundee, Angus, Fife or Perth & Kinross. Register your interest before Fri 11 July to apply.

Workshops

• Pick up your pencils and a cuppa with Jo Craig at her EH9 Espresso drawing club on Thu 3 July! All are welcome, whether you draw lots, never find the time, or haven’t tried for ages.
• Visit Hospitalfield on Sat 5 July for Fields Study Day. Organised with artist and filmmaker Rehana Zaman, the event explores The Field through plots, farming, exhausted environments, cinema, sound and liveness.
• Join Arts Workers for Palestine Dundee on Sat 12 and 19 July for Embroidery in Solidarity with Palestine. No previous experience required and materials will be available to take part in their ongoing collective embroidery project.
• Budding comics artists and makers can join Comics Youth across the summer for free weekly Building Stories workshops for ages 8-13, 14-17, and 18-25 including character creation, drawing jams, zine making, and sketchbook development.

Opportunities

• Fife Contemporary are looking for Scottish artists to submit work for their 2026 exhibition ‘The Artist’s Voice in a Permacrisis’, exploring responses to living with environmental uncertainty. Open call closes 11am, Tue 15 July.
• Youth Theatre Arts Scotland are searching for the Next Generation of theatre makers to join their free support, development and training programme for young arts practitioners aged 16–24. Applications close 5pm, Mon 14 July.
• Applications are open for the Dundee Musicians’ Award 2025/26 with grants of up to £1000 available for the costs of creating new work, research or professional development. Apply before Fri 25 July.
• Creative Scotland are searching for a wide range of freelance/self-employed Access Support Workers to support a range of applicants applying to Creative Scotland funding programmes. Invitation to tender closes Mon 28 July.

Exhibitions

• Celebrate the Fun a Day Dundee community and their eclectic creativity at their 2025 Fun A Day Dundee exhibition, showing at Blend at Dock Street Studios from Fri 4 July.
• Art Angel return to Generator Projects from Sat 5 July for their 2025 exhibition, sharing the wonderful work and creativity of participants from across their art groups.
• The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2024 exhibition has arrived in Dundee at Cooper Gallery for the fourth stop on its UK tour, running until Fri 25 July.
• Designers Gadgie and Bandwagon Brand present ‘Pure Class, Pure Chaos‘, an exhibition and pop-up celebrating life growing up in Scottish council estates. Running from Fri 25–Sun 27 July.

Content

• If you’re looking for some new tunes to take you through the summer, Dundee Music have gathered together the latest releases from an array of local musicians across six playlists with different flavours to suit your listening tastes!
• The recently released Scottish Trade Unions Congress ‘Freelance and Forgotten’ report paints a stark picture of the scale of exploitation for creative freelance workers across Scotland and is valuable reading for any creative sector workers.
• Support local small press comics publisher Don’t Fold Press and a host of DJCAD alumni to bring their first publication, ‘Something Alien’, to life!
• Dundee Libraries are expanding their free community space at Dundee Central Library and would like your input on how you would use the space. Find out more and drop them an email to connect and collaborate.

Subscribe to our monthly News Mail Out for more events, features, opportunities and exciting content from Dundee!

We’ve recently been reflecting on the size and scale of the Creative & Digital Sectors in Dundee using publicly available data from The Scottish Government’s Industry Statistics.

As an organisation which amplifies and connects creativity, we wanted to find and share other ways to demonstrate the Creative & Digital Industries value and the opportunity for the sector and our city. Spending time collating this data, we feel it’s now useful to share these findings as a short summary report.

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This report is augmented by the UK Government’s recently published Creative Industries Sector Plan (23 June 2025). The plan highlights that Dundee is one of twelve high‑potential Creative Cluster cities/regions in the UK. Creative ecosystems are acknowledged as being important within Creative Clusters, as the sector is interconnected, “made up predominantly of SMEs and micro businesses” and “freelancers and creative workers play a key role in the sector’s dynamism”. 

Creative Dundee’s own analysis of our local Creative & Digital Industries found that Dundee has exceptional creative density, reinforcing the city’s reputation as a compact and productive creative ecosystem with a number of key Creative & Digital Industries strengths.

We feel there is a significant opportunity to now leverage our regional advantage by further prioritising the Creative & Digital Industries to strengthen, sustain and grow the sector.

However, the contents of this short summary report do not illustrate the vast social impacts, partnerships and multiplier benefits that a vibrant creative sector brings for our city’s residents and visitors. 

Investing in our creative ecosystem and infrastructure is essential. Creative freelancers, businesses and cultural organisations are crucial to the city’s future — impacting our quality of life, sense of identity, health and wellbeing, education, tourism and business innovation.

For Creative Dundee this intersection is key to true, long-term inclusive prosperity.

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Key Sector Attributes:

1. Dundee’s leading sector by turnover: generated more total turnover, £353.4M, than any other Scottish Government growth sector in the latest 2022 report. This turnover details the Creative & Digital Industries only, not the much broader Creative Economy. 

2. Grown by nearly 100% from £178.3M in 2008 to £353.4M turnover in 2022; with significant growth post–2020, demonstrating creative and digital resilience during and post COVID.

3. High levels of employment: 3,530 people are employed within Dundee’s creative sector (2023). This does not capture those jobs outside of the SIC code (Standard Industrial Classification), such as Further and Higher Education staff.

4. High levels of freelancers, micro businesses and SMEs: of the 245 registered creative businesses based in Dundee (2024), 225 have 0–49 employees and within this 100 have 0 employees. Total numbers of freelancers who file HMRC self assessments are not publicly available so unfortunately are not represented. 

5. Globally recognised Further and Higher Education provision: circa 260 employed and 3,963 students across creative and digital departments within the three academic institutions – data supplied by each institution to Creative Dundee in May 2025. 

Step into the wonderfully eclectic world of Fun A Day Dundee at their 2025 exhibition!

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The 2025 Fun A Day Dundee exhibition is the feel-good result of a city and community coming together to make something, anything, every day throughout January. Whether it’s painting, photography, knitting, journaling, dancing, or even cereal-based art, participants spend the month following their creative impulses and documenting their journey.

Now it’s time to join the fun and celebrate the results! The annual exhibition is the colourful finale to a month of creativity and it’s open to everyone. This year’s exhibition will take up residence at Blend at Dock Street Studios across July and features a broad array of artwork from textile crafts to creative journaling.

Join them to support local makers and celebrate creativity, connection, and the joy of making things for the sheer love of it.

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When
Opening night: Fri 4 July, 6–9pm
Showcase: Sat 5–Thu 31 July

Where
Blend at Dock Street Studios
9 Dock Street
Dundee, DD1 4BT

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Fun A Day Dundee is a community of creatives passionate about embracing the fun every day. In January, they have a simple mission: create something fun every day(ish). It’s inclusive, supportive, and completely free—no experience necessary. Founded in the U.S. and now one of the few UK-based Fun A Day projects, FADD has been running in Dundee since 2011. Over the years, it’s grown into a diverse, welcoming hub for artists, hobbyists, students, families, and curious newcomers of all ages.

Join City Flowers Garden Studio for a festive summer celebration of Scots spoken word, storytelling, music, art and performance in the Botanic Garden.

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Celebrate the summer and be part of the first festival brought to the city by City Flowers Garden Studio! They’ll be taking over Dundee’s Botanic Garden on Sat 12 July for a day of music, art, spoken word and performance.

Families can join the festivities and bring a picnic to the garden from 12pm with storytelling, art workshops and trails through the gardens led by artists Sara, Joy and Cara. From 2pm, visitors can head to the Glasshouse for experimental sounds and performance from artists including Lux Lucis, Saint Sappho, Kinbrae and James Liandu. Or head to the Living Library for an afternoon of spoken word and storytelling including Tay Dyson and Erin Farley, alongside an immersive floral installation by artist Liv Rodgers.

Early bird tickets are on sale until the end of June with family tickets for £12 and adult tickets for £15.

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When
Sat 12 July
Family ticket holders: 12–4pm
Adult ticket holders: 2-7pm

Where
University of Dundee Botanic Garden
Riverside Drive
Dundee, DD2 1QH