Creative PlacesCreative People

ArtForms

Music

The Feral Choir presents Burns: The Giftie Bard

Performing as soloists and joining the choirs will be Dave Francis and Mairi Campbell from Edinburgh who perform together as The Cast and have a sparkling reputation for their rendition of Burns’ songs. Also performing will be Wendy Stewart, one of Scotland’s finest traditional harpists and Dave Orr, guitarist. In Burns: The Giftie Bard, the letters of Burns will be woven together with traditional Galloway fiddle tunes and with Burns’ songs – lesser known as well as old favourites.

The Johnny Cash Story

Roger Dean sings Johnny Cash. An evening of excellent entertainment from a singer worthy of Johnny Cash.

Public and Environmental

Healing Spaces Public Art Commission – opportunity for poet

dgArts working in partnership with NHS Dumfries and Galloway are wishing to appoint a poet to work collaboratively with Donald Urquhart, the Healing Spaces Artist to create texts which will be integrated into the grounds and gardens of the Crichton Royal Acute Mental Health Hospital currently under construction in Dumfries.

The deadline for applications is 12 NOON on Monday 21st December. Applicants selected for interview will be notified on Wednesday 22nd December. Interviews will be held in Dumfries on Tuesday 11th January 11.00am – 2.00pm.

This brief covers the role of the poet who can demonstrate a strong interest in the use of text as integral to creating a sense of place (placemaking) for the users and staff of the new Crichton Acute Mental Health Hospital, Dumfries which is due to be completed in October 2016.

New Luce Community Arts Project

The beautiful conservation village of New Luce celebrates the opening of its Community Arts Project with tours of sculptures and its collection of dress fabrics created by artists Matt Baker and Jo Warner with design input from the community. Musicians will play at each artwork, and you’ll find readings of poetry by Mary Smith at the Kenmuir Arms. There will be music from Wigtownshire Small Circle, traditional music at 4pm and traditional music from Life O’Reilly in the marquee at 8.30pm.

Tours of the sculptures start 3.30pm

Contact: Una Forster 01581 600208

Supported by GaelForce

Drama

Six Black Candles

Written by Des Dillon and presented by Goldfish Theatre Company.

Six sisters, their maw and granny gather to kill by witchcraft the mistress Caroline’s wayward husband. Six black candles, one black affronted maw, two gallons of vodka, one crazy old Irish granny, a pile of burning boxer shorts, barrels of bickering, a hit-man, a pentangle and a frozen head in the fridge, plus one adulterous husband and one unsuspecting Catholic priest. This belly buster of a comedy is just what you need!

Guild of Players Presents: The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of A Christmas Carol

By David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jnr. Directed by Joyce Ferguson (by arrangement with Samuel French) (is this the play with the longest title ever?)

In a festive mood (albeit a few months late), the ladies mount another assault on the classics with their stage version of A Christmas Carol. They enthusiastically portray a dizzy array of characters from the Dickensian favourite (and a few which aren’t). Another classic dramatic massacre that enthralls!

Literature

Rab, George, Whitman, Burns and Jazz @ the CatStrand

George Wallace, Rab Wilson and musical friends take us on a lively poetic journey inspired by the work of two great poets: Robert Burns and Walt Whitman.

There will be a community minibus from Dumfries for this event – call Carolyn Yates on 01387 253383 if you want more information.

George Wallace is the Walt Whitman Birthplace 2011 Writer in Residence. An award winning poet and journalist, George has performed his work across America and in Europe. He is the author of nineteen chapbooks of poetry and teaches literature at Pace University in Manhattan. He is editor of Poetrybay, an online poetry magazine archived and distributed worldwide by Stanford University. Other editorial work includes Poetryvlog, Long Island Quarterly, and Walt’s Corner in the Long Islander newspaper A former Peace Corps Volunteer, USAF Medical Officer and community organizer, he is a regular performer at Lowell Celebrates Kerouac, Howlfest, the Woody Guthrie Festival and Bradfest. In the Metropolitan New York area he has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Algonquin Club, Tribes Gallery, Sidewalk Café and at C-Note, and hosts poetry events at Cornelia St Cafe and Bowery Poetry Club. An avid Whitman enthusiast, he is a major interpreter of European Surrealism, New York School and Beat writing.

Rab Wilson, the Robert Burns Writing Fellow in Reading Scots for Dumfries and Galloway, is a poet wha screives maistly in Scots an writes a wheen things in Standaurt Englis as weel. His wark appears regularly in the likes o Lallans magazine, Holyrood Magazine, the Herald newspaper and Chapman magazine. He writes whit it is like tae leeve in Scotland in the 21st Century. His wark contains poleetical satire, humorous warks, elegies, sonnets, meditations oan global events, anti-war poetry, an the hale range o whit haes inspired Scots makars fir a thoosan year syne or mair. ‘Omar Khayyam in Scots’, and an ‘Art Buik’ version o the Roman poet Horace’s ‘First Book o Satires’, a jynt project wi the Dumfries artist Hugh Bryden, are his acclaimed owersettins o classic screeds. His collection, ‘Accent O The Mind’ wis publisht bi Luath Press o Embra in 2006. Scotland On Sunday said o this buik ‘This book contains poetry to rival the best published in Scotland, or written by a Scot, in the past 30 years.’ He wis winner of ‘The McCash Poetry Prize’ in 2008, Scotland’s leadin poetry competition fir poetry written in Scots, rin jyntly bi Glasgow University and the Herald newspaper. In 2009 he published a saicent collection, ‘Life Sentence’, and an anthology o poetry bi contemporary Dumfries and Galloway poets, entitled ‘Chuckies fir the Cairn’. His film documentary anent the history an future o coal mining in South West Scotland, in conjunction wi the West of Scotland University, was shown at the Wigtown book festival in 2010.

Professor Alan Riach, current Chair o Scottish Leeterature at Glasgow University, hus described Rab as ‘one of the best poets now working in Scotland’.

Poetry Doubles

Poetry Doubles is a unique festival of poetry readings where Britain’s foremost poets share a stage with Dumfries and Galloway’s most talented poets. Poetry Doubles has been established since 2004, and has developed a reputation for providing a very special array of the best national and international poets alongside exciting new voices Poetry Doubles presents an exceptional opportunity to enjoy poetry, being as accessible and pleasurable for readers, as it is a series of masterclasses for both aspirant and experienced writers.

Professional Development for Writers

dg arts works to provide opportunities for professional development for writers in the region. This has ranged from invited speakers discussing the editorial process and publication, to workshops offered by nationally known writers and opportunities to read in public, such as during Poetry Doubles, at Wigtown Book Festival and at Open Stage.

• home
• about
• events
• projects
• artforms

DGARTS 2017 - Contact : info @ dgarts.co.uk