[Brochure a collaboration by Lyall Bruce & Johanna Basford]

On Sat 6th Feb 2010, Censta and members went on Dundee Popup, a tour round the city’s creative people and places.  Artists, designers, illustrators, film-makers all gathered for a day of behind the scenes studio tours at Dundee Contemporary Arts, Duncan of Jordanstone and WASPS, private artist talks with Martin Boyce and Daziel and Scullion, plus an exclusive preview of the soon to be opened McManus Gallery after a 4 year refurbishment.

Members were blogging, tweeting and documenting in stills each part of the day, so you can take the tour for yourself.

As well as a day for members, and the city’s creatives to meet and discuss their work and practice, Dundee Popup created some LTD edition artworks. Censta members  SooperDD and Johanna Basford worked together to produce the booklet detailing the day, and Superfly worked with artists from the site to create a poster gallery round the city. Read more about it here.

To top it all off, we had an evening of talks from members, followed by wine and some rather fine Central Station cakes, created by Nikki McWilliams.

To see some of the photographs from the day look here. Read the rest of the blog to find out more about the day, and click here to find reviews and thoughts by the members who joined us.

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What? A tour of the creative world of Dundee, Central Station style. Private talks, tours and presentations. As well as lots of members meeting & discussing.

Where? Dundee

When? 11am – 8pm Saturday February 6th

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[SuperFly poster by Jen Collins - part of a series]

11am:
Meet us at the Reception entrance of Duncan of Jordonson College of Art & Design. We’ll have a quick chat…and then the tour begins. Join us for some or all of it and come visit us at The Rep for a coffee stop.

11:30am options:
i) See the new exhibition at Cooper Gallery, Public Image, accompanied by a Curator talk & listen to sculptor student Julie Duffy talk about her practice

ii) Meet some graduates from DJCAD who’ll talk about how they’ve got themselves noticed since leaving

iii) Have a private tour of Dalziel + Scullion’s studio space

1pm options:
i) Go to Generator Projects for a private talk and tour

ii) Go to WASPS for a private studio tour

iii) Go to a screening of a film selected by Martin Boyce, with a live soundtrack by saxophonist Raymond MacDonald (please note there is a charge for this event & booking is necessary)

2pm options:
i) Get a rare private walkround of Realtime Worlds

ii) Have an exclusive peek inside the newly renovated McManus Galleries

3pm options:
i) Pop along to The Visual Research Centre

ii) Go to the DCA Print Studio for a private tour

3.45pm:
Hear an exclusive Martin Boyce talk about his No Reflections exhibition at the DCA

5pm options:
i) See the SuperFly Pop-up exhibition at the Hannah MacLure Centre

ii) Hear Yann Seznec talk about his Gelkies exhibition at the Hannah MacLure Centre

iii) Take a look at Handmade Heaven’s handmade wares at the Hannah MacLure Centre

6 – 8pm:
Join us for This is… Sit back and listen to a selection of our members giving quick-fire presentations about their work & practice. Then a chance to chat, mingle, drink and nibble

[Cupcakes by Nikki McWilliams]

I got to meet Superfly Guy who I have exchanged several emails with and circulated info to our students about his projects in the past.

I have been thinking about how the links made can be maintained but my daydreaming has now gone further than that: As I was recounting some of the day during a conversation today with someone who was not able to come it made me think could the Popup Tour happen again next year…..It took a lot of work but it was work done together and benefiting from what each other was doing. It was a collaboration and will hopefully nurture further collaboration. We have Open Doors days and I suppose the Dundee Popup Tour organised by Central Station was a hyper equivalent of that with social media involved! Anyone else interested in doing it all again next year?

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To find out what Dundee Popup was all about or to read more reviews & blogs  from the day, click here.

Jon Gill has, by his own admission, a bit of an obsession. Fly Posters. Those little bits of information design normally posted illegally on any available city centre space before being removed and disposed of by the council.

It was during a trip through the centre of town when Jon came across some building work where partitions were erected to filter the shoppers into a bottleneck that led him to his idea. Wouldn’t it be great to use this space as a free gallery for art and design that the whole public could appreciate.

This was a few years ago and at that time Jon used his idea as the basis of a project but never took it any further. It wasn’t until last year when he heard about the NEoN Digital Arts festival in Dundee that Jon resurrected the idea and did some exploration.

He discovered that in Dundee fly postering is legal, sort of. There are designated permanent fly postering spaces and when ever there is building work being carried out there are temporary spaces erected on the protective partitions put up by the builders. These spaces are run by a small company, Street Advertising Services, who rent them out at affordable prices to people that have something to say.

Jon got in touch with the company and presented them a simple proposition. They have spaces for rent that sometimes sit empty. He would run a competition to have artists submit designs and Street Advertising would sponsor the print and allow him to use the spaces. That way they get advertising and he gets his public gallery that he would use to showcase emerging creative talent.

So, thats what happened, last year in October/November the first Superfly exhibition that contained artwork from 7 artists from all corners of the UK went up around the streets of Dundee and was by all accounts a rather good success. Jon even made it onto the news.

Now with Central Station in Dundee Jon has had a chance to use more of the artwork he was sent and create a new set of posters that have brightened up the streets of Dundee again in the run up to yesterdays event. This time he has created some miniature packs containing each of the designs which people can buy to brighten up there own walls.

You can find out more about the designs that Jon chose for Superfly and for the Central Station Dundee Pop-up over at his website.

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To find out what Dundee Popup was all about or to read more reviews & blogs  from the day, click here.

Highlights of the day for me were hooking up with old friends and acquaintances, and of course meeting new people, putting names to faces and faces to names. I really enjoyed the studio visit hosted by Matthew Dalziel, it was great to hear about their current projects and I think it always helps to illuminate an artist’s practice when you hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. Makes it all the more real, and clearer as to the reasoning behind the work etc. Next up, a visit to Generator Projects and a slide talk with the current committee, who have recently been upgrading the building. Its good to see how they have been building and expanding on the reputation already achieved, punching above their weight as ever!

Managed to miss the preview tour of the McManus but caught the end of the Realtime Worlds Studio Tour, – interesting to see the set up but ultimately ‘not my bag’. Then on to the Visual Research Centre at DCA for a tour of the Centre for Artists’ Books and the Rewind Micro Cinema, the cutest cinema I ever did see, with seats that looked damn comfy after all the legwork of the previous few hours. On to “No Reflections” in the gallery, with Martin Boyce in conversation with Tricia Fleming. I didn’t make it to Venice so it was a good opportunity to see the work albeit in a very different context.

Finally to the Hannah McClure Centre for exhibition talks by Yann Seznec and Jon Gill of Superfly, talking about their work/projects and then “This Is..” with guest speakers from Yuck & Yum, Gen Ryan & Jo Swingler; Lyall Bruce & Johanna Basford; Arika; Colliderscope and Georgina Follett from the V& A Project. All in all giving an interesting and varied overview of things happening or about to happen in Dundee.

Its encouraging to see Dundee burgeoning with projects, opportunities and possibilities for the future, and that the arts and the creative industries are at the forefront of this change.

After all that a glass of vino and a chance to chat, was a well earned finale to a busy and thought provoking day.

Thanks to all the CenSta team for inviting me along, I really enjoyed seeing Dundee from this perspective.

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To find out what Dundee Popup was all about or to read more reviews & blogs  from the day, click here.

Well, if i’ve confirmed one thing today it’s that i’m an idiot!

Firstly, (and not so relevant to this blog) I left my car in a space for two hours and paid only for 20mins – now I have a ticket!

Secondly, I’ve lived or worked within 10 mins of Dundee for nearly 17 years and i’ve never once been to the DCA Print Studio, or it’s predecessor in the east end..!

If you have the slightest interest in print making, regardless of experience, stop reading this and get down there.

Due to contractual obligations, and for the benefit of those who live a little more that 10 mins out of Dundee here’s a breakdown of what we saw this afternoon…

Our guide, (sorry, didn’t catch the name and forgot to ask afterwards) gave us an overview of the many styles of print available at the studio. By far the most popular is Screen printing, but you could also have a try at Etching, Block, Lino and Litho (I may have missed others..?). With materials getting increasingly expensive there are many modern alternatives on offer and many aesthetics can be achieved though different materials.

If you’d like to have a shot you really should just go down there and have a chat. If i’m honest i’ve often thought about trying it out but have felt intimidated by such a specialised environment. I’m glad to say that these fears were complete unfounded and the studio was relaxed and open to enquiries. It’s also incredibly cheap to sign up for either taster, speciality or even ‘one to one’ sessions so you really should just go down and find out what suits you.

If you’d rather find out by more while in the comfort of you own home you could visit the DCA website for details of membership and other fees… but don’t be an idiot.. if you’ve been thinking about it don’t wait nearly 20 years.. just do it!

Oh, and if you go by car put plenty of change in the meter..!

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To find out what Dundee Popup was all about or to read more reviews & blogs  from the day, click here.

It’s already looking like a great day and a great turnout of people, but don’t fret if you can’t be here. Along with some of Censta’s members we’ll be blogging and tweeting the day. Watch out for blogs in the Dundee Popup group, follow @censta for tweets, tagged #dundeepopup and there will be photos uploaded by Ross_McLean all through the day and footage coming from Andy later in the week.

Posters by Superfly have been spotted all round the city, and the LTD edition booklets by SooperDD and Johanna Basford are already a coveted item.

The blogs as they come in…… and the tweets for the day.

And here’s the first blog … read all about Public Image at the Cooper Gallery @DCJAD.

Lots of people meeting, eating and blogging in between tours at the Censta hub at the Dundee Rep.

Emlyn Firth gives the lowdown on the DJCAD graduates showcase, including a live link up on Skype.

Our very own Suzy Glass gives her view of the Dalziel & Scullion studio tour.

Ever been inside the coveted doors of Realtime Worlds? Jon Carlos went along, what did he see?

Censta and members got a very special sneak preview of the soon to be re-opened and very much renovated McManus Gallery. Gillian Easson gives you an idea of what’s in store.

Heidi Proven disappeared into the Visual Research Centre at Dundee Contemporary Arts, and thinks you should too.

JonGill took in the DCA Print studio, screen printing, etching, block, lino and litho. Jessica Ashman gave us her account of the DCA Print Studio tour too.

Martin Boyce took members round his No Reflections instillation at the DCA, and explained the challenges of exhibiting the work in two different spaces. Here and at Venice Biennalle. Curator Donna HolfordLovell takes us through the talk.

Superfly has an obsession, find out what it is.

Artists and makers from Handmade Heaven, showed off their wares and Censta members a plenty bought things. See what Hellojenuine liked.

Then it was time for This is… at the Hannah Maclure Centre which went like this:
Yuck & Yum told us about the ways they distrubute art without using gallery spaces
Johanna Basford & Sooper DD entertained us with stories of collaboration
Arika went through their KYTN 2009 plans and how you can get involved
Genevieve Ryan & Jo Swingler talked us through recent illustration & creative writing collaboration
We heard and saw music & animation from Colliderscope‘s Fiona Soe Paing
Georgina Follett let us know about the V&A Dundee developments.

These were covered by Htothep, suzy.glass & DJCADExhibitions.

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To find out what Dundee Popup was all about or to read more reviews & blogs  from the day, click here.