Dumfries is what we All Make Together - Charter14 Unveiled

If you’ve never been to Guid Nychburris before, it’s too late - you’ll have to wait until next year. The annual event, which celebrates the 1395 Royal Charter for the Burgh of Dumfries, has become a regular in The Stove calendar (previous exploits here and here).

Drawing inspiration from the 'original' Charter (an update from the earlier 1186 Charter), which is read out on Guid Nychburris Day, The Stove embarked on the ambitious task of writing a new ‘People’s Charter’ for the town, inviting input and inclusions from community groups, organisations and individuals living, working and inhabiting Dumfries. Where the original Charter granted land and fishing rights, Charter14 set out a declaration, of values for the future prosperity of Dumfries. “Dumfries is what we all make together.”

We were overwhelmed by the response to the idea with contributions coming in from all walks of life - all underlining the depth of felling that people have about Dumfries. The first draft of Charter14 was compiled with the help of local writer and lecturer Dave Borthwick from the contributions of the public and was unveiled in grand fashion, with the Dumfries Fountain as the centrepiece on Saturday with lots of help and the handy adage ‘Just Add Water’….

Thanks to Mike for all his work on the Fountain’s new structure!

The text on the banners around the fountain changed colour when they became wet....buckets were filled from the fountain and people were invited to hurl wet sponges at the banners to reveal their message.


Charter14 is not intended as a finished document. Like the original, revisited and amended – The Stove invited Doonhamers from across the town to add their mark; editing, adding and signing over 150 variations of the new charter over the course of the afternoon.

The 1395 Charter was venerably sealed with the town seal, also celebrated in the Guid Nychburris festivities, and Charter14 was no different, with it’s very own seal created by artist David Ralston.

The project prompted discourse late into the evening, around notions of authentication and validity, as each charter was signed by a unique signatory, ranging in age from 5 to 85, including everyone from local politicians, to the Queen (of the South)’s attendants, and passers by.

The Stove has been absolutely overwhelmed with the amazing response to #MakingDumfries and the Charter14, and would like to sincerely thank everyone who has contributed to the Charter, joined in on Saturday, helped facilitate the day and worked from our studio-in-exile in the run up to the event.

Dumfries is what we all Make Together.

Brave Enough to Take Risks and Surprise People.

To see more images of the day - have a look at our flickr set here
All Photo Credits: Colin Tennant.

The Grand Unveiling of a Charter in Process....your invitation

Revealed in the streets as only The Stove Network can

.......@ Guid Nychburris

'just add water'
12.30pm on Saturday 21^st June

The artists of The Stove Network have challenged the town to create a ‘peoples charter’ for the future of Dumfries.  The 1395 Royal Charter for the Burgh of Dumfries, is read out each year as part of Guid Nychburris (Good Neighbours) Festival – this year there will be an alternative version as well….

The Dumfries Charter 14 is made up of contributions from individuals and community groups and begins with the premise that people are responsible for making their place – and they do not need to ask anyone’s permission other than their fellow citizens.

Dumfries Charter 14 near the town fountain on the High Street immediately after the crowning of the Queen of the South at 12.30pm on Saturday 21^st June

You're invited to come and be part of it - see you there!

It is all too common for people to think that ‘someone else is in charge’ of what happens here – we hope this new people's Charter will inspire more people to believe that we all have a part to play in making Dumfries the best place for everyone to live, work and play

From enterprise and opportunity to diversity and bus srevices, ‘Dumfries is something that we all make together’ has sparked conversation and debate as suggestions towards a new charter have flown in. 
 

'We were delighted to be approached to contribute to the new charter. We exist to give a voice to people who do not always feel included and we feel very proud to be part of a charter which reflects local people’s commitment to increase understanding and promote equality'  Dumfries and Galloway Multicultural Association

 

Dumfries Charter 14 will be launched on the High Street on a series of giant canvas banners – the text on the banners requires the application of water to make it visible – Stove members will be inviting members of the public to assist them in ‘applying’ the water and revealing the Charter to the world.

Also people will be invited to edit, stamp, sign and seal their own personal version of the Charter to take away with them and members of The Stove team will be there to help and talk. Proceedings will also be helped along by the visit of a mystery guest from history who has already played a part in social movements in Scotland.

 Background - here

and on Stove Facebook - here 

This is The Stove Network's third year at Guid Nychburris:
2012 - Punkin' the Jubilee
2013 - Back2Back Dumfries 

'Making Dumfries' - a new Charter

Members of The Stove Network are gearing up for Guid Nychburris again. We have been involved in the festivities for the last 2 years and are finding it a brilliant opportunity to work with and talk to people in Dumfries about the future of the town.

Back2Back - The Stove @ Guid Nychburris 2013

Recently we have been inspired by some of our researches into local movements of people working together to make the places that they live in better by thinking creatively and taking practical measures like pooling skills.

The 100 citizens who re-wrote the Irish Consitution (66 ordinary people, 33 politicians and 1 independent Chairperson)

Guid Nychburris celebrates the granting of a Royal Charter to the Burgh of Dumfries in 1395. We thought it would be interesting to speculate about the sort of Charter the people of Dumfries might grant themselves for the future prosperity of the town.

The earliest surviving copy of the Dumfries Burgh Charter was written down in 1580 - the original Charter being given in 1395

For absolute clarity…this idea of a popular Charter is NO way ‘official’ – it will have no formal status at all…it has not been ‘commissioned’ in any way. A group of local artists just thought this could be an interesting contribution to the conversation about the future of the town.

We plan to launch the Charter on Guid Nychburris Day (21^st June) – getting people to help us ‘unveil’ it in a typically Stoveish manner and offering people special memorial copies that they can also add to and edit as they choose.

Publishing 'stove style' at Nithraid 2013

We are getting in touch now to invite you to contribute to the new Charter – our idea is that the Charter should focus on people and what is important to quality of life… to paraphrase the US constitution ‘ Each Citizen covenants with the whole people and the whole people covenants with each Citizen that all shall respect certain principles for the common good’

beginning of the US 'Bill of Rights'

The Stove already has long standing partnerships with groups and individuals working in these areas – over the next couple of weeks we will be asking people to help us come up with a phrase (20 words max) for their particular area of interest that we can add to the new Charter.

We propose that the Charter begins with the statement that:

“Dumfries is what we make together.We promise each other that our making together will be shaped by these values, for the common good:”

Our idea is that this opening is followed by a series of statements about how the town regards the following:

·       Young People

·       Diversity

·       People with disabilities

·       Enterprise and opportunity

·       Culture and Creativity

·       Heritage

·       Environment

·       Belief

·       Education 

 Civic Society and Local Democracy

Health and Wellbeing 

This is also a completely open invitation to anyone with an interest in this project to take part….please either leave a comment at the bottom of this post, drop us an email at info@thestove.org or contact us through Facebook or Twitter.

Also let us know if you are interested to be involved in being part of the project team to bring all this to fruition for Guid Nuychburris Day and beyond

We are not intending crediting individual contributions on the Charter itself – but we would hope to list everyone involved as part of the project documentation. Please include with your contribution the way you would like to be credited or a confirmation that your contribution should be anonymous

Guid Nychburris and beyond

The Stove’s focus is growing towards Guid Nychburris Day, and our upcoming events to co-incide with Dumfries’ annual Riding of the Marches Day. This will be our third year presenting work as part of the annual festivities, and with each year our fascination with the history behind it grows. 

Lochmabengate Port - we'd like to know a bit more about the gates and customs arising from the Guid Nychburris route, any suggestions?

 Guid Nychburris Day has been held near annually since 1932, but it’s origins lie further back when King Robert III granted Royal Burgh status to the town in 1186. But where has the festival we see today grown from? From where and when have each of the customs, important figures been added to the event? 

Although there are other March Riding traditions across the border and beyond, each having grown it’s own unique customs and traditions – and we’ve been thinking slightly further afield at the origins of tradition in community based and led festivals: 

From the ancient and obscure, such as Ottery St Mary’s Flaming Tar Barrels tradition: part of their annual carnival on the 5th November. “The exact origins are unknown but probably started after the gunpowder plot of 1605. Various alternative reasons suggested for burning barrels have included fumigation of cottages and as a warning of the approach of the Spanish armada.” 

To the more modern adaptations – take the Edinburgh Beltane Fire Festival (coincidentally this week) for example, which only started up in 1988 but harks back to the celtic Beltane festival that traditionally took place at this time of year. At what point do these events go from being a bit of fun to a ‘venerable tradition’? 

A shortlist of some of the curatorial team’s favourite festivals: 

The Baby Jumping Festival 
Or, “El Colacho” dates back to 1620 and is a Spanish ritual involving men dressed as the devil in red and yellow jumpsuits paired with modern running shoes, jumping over babies born in the previous twelve months; thought to bless the newborn children and remove original sin, preparing them for a life on God’s true path. 

Burning Man 
Which needs little introduction, but sees the creation of a temporary community for a week each year in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. “The Burning Man organization (Black Rock City LLC) creates the infrastructure of Black Rock City, wherein attendees (or "participants") dedicate themselves to the spirit of community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. They depart one week later, leaving no trace.” 

Up Helly Aa 
Although first appearances may suggest a harking back to ancient Viking celebrations, Up Helly Aa is actually a relatively modern – having grown out of wild Christmas holiday celebrations. The current form, including guizing and torchlit procession was first introduced in the around 1870.  

Holi 
The Hindu festival celebrating the end of Winter and the arriving Spring – sees social rules and expectations relaxed in India, “Social barriers are broken as people of all ages, genders, castes, and wealth gather together and celebrate the festival. In fact, it is said that one can get away with almost any kind of behavior on the day of Holi by saying "bura na mano holi hai," or, "don't mind, it is Holi."

Palnackie Flounder Tramping Championships 
Naturally, we couldn’t miss out the more local eccentric festivals. Palnackie’s Flounder Tramping Festival has been missing from the calander the past few years, but rumour has it is due to make a comeback this year. was the brainchild of villager John Kirk, who on a sunny summer afternoon in 1973, offered a bottle of whisky to the person who could catch the biggest flounder. 

And so back to Guid Nychburris. As we delve into the history of the town’s Charter and Seal, the importance of the flag and the many gates and keys along the route as well as the roles played out by the Cornet, Lass and entourage – all the pieces that add to the sense of tradition and occasion - get in touch with us! If you have any knowledge or insight into the history of Guid Nychburris, we’d love to hear from you: Fire off an e-mail to info@thestove.org

Guid Nychburris 2014

 

The Burgh Seal of Dumfries

The first outing in our year-long art programme TheStove@TheStove is Guid Nychburris – the original (and still the best) Dumfries community festival. The Stove has taken part in the last two Guid Nychburris celebrations with Punkin’ the Jubilee in 2013 and Back2Back in 2013. This year we have been mining the town archives for some of the origins of Dumfries (that are celebrated in Guid Nychburris) – we’ll be looking at the idea of a new Charter for the town, the Common Good and generally making a mess and having a good time……lots of opportunities to use your existing skills, learn new ones – work with some terrific folk and wear hats.

Punkin' the Jubilee - The Stove@Guid Nychburris 2012

If you are interested in being part of Team Stove for Guid Nychburris 2014 then drop us a line at info@thestove.org and we’ll keep you in the loop with developments

Back2Back - The Stove@Guid Nychburris 2013

A wee reminder from those at The Stove

A buzz is growing in and around The Stove as Saturday fast approaches. The weather forecast may be nothing short of typical, but as the team involved continues to expand (welcoming Spring Fling guest artists Denise Zygadlo, Paula McQuiston and Katherine Wheeler) the stovie's can promise an afternoon of hands-on participation and involvement - set to a groovy soundtrack from the new live window display. Grab a brollie and get on down to the High Street on Saturday - and try your hand as a graffiti artist!

www.thestove.org

Volunteers wanted for Back to Back Dumfries!

The Stove’s next event follows on from the success of last year’s Punkin' the Jubilee - held on Guid Nychburris 2012. This year, we are taking to the Streets of Dumfries with our new project Back to Back Dumfries.

We will be mapping a contemporary identity for Dumfries via a street art themed large scale pavement drawing. Stencils and spray chalk at the ready - we invite you to make your mark on our vision of the town. Stencils are currently in the process of being designed in partnership with local youth group YES (Youth Enquiry Service).

Want to get involved?
We are looking for Stovie volunteers to help out on Guid Nychburris Day for a few hours, to keep the event organised and running smoothly, assisting participants of all ages and forming the face of The Stove - as well as getting down and contributing to what will be a temporary and ephemeral artwork. 

No special arts skills required, just enthusiasm and old clothes. Sound like your thing?
Give us a shout this week at info@thestove.org

Not up for volunteering? 
Come along and mark yourself down on our map, and watch the work grow throughout the afternoon. See you there!

(A wee reminder of how much fun last year's event was!)

Back to Back Dumfries - Saturday 15th June

The Stove Network is taking to the streets for Guid Nychburris day - Saturday 15^th June - with a DIY street art event on the Dumfries High Street.

The large scale pavement drawing will map out a contemporary identity for the town, with imagery and stencil designs being developed in partnership with local youth group YES (the Youth Enquiry Service) who this year is celebrating its 20^th year.

The work is to be temporary, and made on site - building up over the course of the day. With stencils and spray chalk on hand, The Stove invite aspiring artists of all ages to participate and contribute by making their mark on our map. 

‘Back to Back Dumfries’ will take place between 12pm and 4pm on Saturday 15^th June, alongside the rest of the annual festivities taking place this year. 

Join our Facebook event page here