The Your Place multimedia exhibition will tell the story of What We Do Now so far, as documented by artists Kirstin McEwan and Patrick Rooney.
What We Do Now, a creative placemaking pilot project, has been underway for more than 12 months in Dumfries and Galloway. Creative Placemaking is a community led approach that uses creative activity to support collective decision-making and positive change for people and the places they live. This ground-breaking, collaborative project has been working with artists, communities and organisations in Castle Douglas, Dumfries, Langholm, Sanquhar and Stranraer. Throughout the project photographer Kirstin McEwan and filmmaker Patrick Rooney, have been documenting the various activities and initiatives and will showcase the highlights of the initiative as part of this exhibition.
The exhibition launch event is on 22 September from 7pm to 9pm at ‘The Smithy’ in Dumfries.
The exhibition venue, ‘The Smithy’, forms part of Dumfries’ Midsteeple Quarter, a community benefit society breathing new life into Dumfries town centre by redeveloping empty High Street properties to create a new neighbourhood with a mix of uses built on principles of local prosperity and well being, which perfectly complements the context of this exhibition of work.
The public exhibition is free to view and open from 23 September to 1 October, 12noon to 7pm each day.
Kirstin McEwan and Patrick Rooney specialise in multimedia visual storytelling ranging from photography, moving image and audio production. Their background is in working with communities and artist-led organisations to document and communicate these initiatives, their ethos, and values.
Kirstin McEwan
“Having the opportunity to document Dumfries and Galloway’s expanding arts and cultural scene is incredibly exciting and I can’t wait to see what the next year holds for all the artists and organisations involved in this wonderful project.”Patrick Rooney
“I feel that it is such a creative, interesting and important project to be a part of, and I am delighted to be working alongside Kirstin McEwan as the Documentarians throughout the project’s duration.”Matt Baker, Orchestrator, The Stove Network
“I encourage everyone to come along to find out more about the What We Do Now project, and see some of the amazing visuals captured and curated by Kirstin and Patrick.”
Midsteeple Quarter Executive Director, Scott Mackay said:
“We’re delighted that The Smithy will be the venue for what we’re sure will be a fantastic exhibition. There could hardly be a more appropriate space to tell this story. Creative placemaking has played an important part in unlocking the enthusiasm and ambition that will deliver a stronger future for Dumfries High Street, led by the community.”
The exhibition is part of know One Place, Scotland’s first forum dedicated to the discussion and ambition of creative placemaking, taking place on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 September at Loreburn Hall in Dumfries. It will allow attendees to share their own experience and be part of shaping a collective approach for creativity and placemaking in the South of Scotland and beyond.
More information on the exhibition and wider project is available at www.whatwedonow.scot
