Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival

Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival Scotland's largest rural performing arts festival and year-round touring organisation.

Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival supports people in some of the region’s most rural areas to experience world class performing arts. We bring the best local and national artists to our communities; we invest in our performing artists; introduce our young people to live performance and engage people of all ages, from all walks of life, with our imaginative programme. We are the only region wide pe

rforming arts organisation in Dumfries & Galloway and our work incorporates three key strands: the 10-day Festival, Arts Live - our year round performance programme supporting our regional network of venues, artists and promoters and Stage iT - our youth performing arts project. Our 2021 Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival, Hame’ll Dae Me, ran from the 16th – 25th July but our year round Arts Live programme features an exciting line up of artists for you to enjoy.

🌱WHEN IT BURNS- the 28th ofJanuary and 8th of February, 2025. With DG Climate Hub.What is the role of poetry and the poe...
04/01/2025

🌱WHEN IT BURNS- the 28th ofJanuary and 8th of February, 2025. With DG Climate Hub.

What is the role of poetry and the poet in a climate and biodiversity crisis?

Robert Burns is celebrated for his profound understanding and appreciation of nature. His evocative poems captured the essence of the natural world in his time, depicting its beauty, power, and the deep connection it shares with humanity.

In 2025 the natural world is in a perilous state, and we need many perspectives. What can language do?

On the heels of Burns Night, Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival & D&G Climate Hub in collaboration with Bakehouse Community Arts welcome two contemporary performance poets to Galloway. Tawona Sithole and Genevieve Carver will share their work and discuss with us their take on this eternal connection in the present: the fragile state we are living through, how we can respond, how we might be in best service of nature during a climate crisis. These events will blend performance and conversation.

28th January 6:30-8:30pm poet, playwright, and short story authorTawona Sithole will light up the room at Feast Café, Kirkcudbright.

On Saturday 8th February, 2.00 – 4.00pm, we welcome poet, writer and performer Genevieve Carver at CatStrand.

Want to find out more about these events? Visit our website, and secure your ticket.

🎄And just like that, 2024 has flown by.What a great year we have had - with our 45th Festival, incredible year round pro...
24/12/2024

🎄And just like that, 2024 has flown by.

What a great year we have had - with our 45th Festival, incredible year round program, and the launch of Up Yer Airts, we have a lot to be thankful for. Thank you to everyone for your continued support.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from everyone at the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival. See you in 2025 for another jam packed year.

Retirements and new appointmentsAt the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival’s recent annual general meeting three trustees,...
20/12/2024

Retirements and new appointments

At the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival’s recent annual general meeting three trustees, Catriona McGhie, Andrea Thompson and Lee Medd, retired from the board.

Between them Catriona, Andrea and Lee have racked up over twenty years of valuable service to the arts festival. Over this time, a period of great evolution and change for our organisation, each has offered so much of their extensive professional knowledge and understanding, insights, enthusiasm and commitment, helping to ensure that the programmes and activities we provide continue to entertain, inspire and inform audience and participants throughout Dumfries & Galloway. We thank Catriona, Andrea and Lee so much for everything they have given and wish them well in all their future endeavours.

We are in the process of appointing new trustees, each of whom, in their respective professional spheres, provides significant support and leadership for the performing arts community in Dumfries & Galloway. We will announce their names early in 2025.

Our friends over at Up Yer Airts have been busy planning the next instalment of the Gallovidian Gathering! The Yule Edit...
06/12/2024

Our friends over at Up Yer Airts have been busy planning the next instalment of the Gallovidian Gathering! The Yule Edition of the Gallovidian Gathering will blow up Castle Douglas Town Hall on Saturday 21st December.

📅Saturday 21st December 7pm
📍Castle Douglas Town Hall
🎟Tickets available at https://www.upyerairts.com/event/gallovidian-gathering/

The Gathering is a celebration of our community, bringing people together through shared experiences in music and culture. Featuring musical headliner’s State of Satta and locally brewed Sultwath Brewery beer, the Gallovidian Gathering promises something for everyone.

This event is co-produced with DJ McDowall of the Imaginarium and Tom Spirals. The aim is to celebrate the cultural traditions of Stewartry and bring life back to the Town Halls that communities have missed in recent years.

Fancy a dance? Join us on the 21st. Grab tickets from the Up Yer Airts website.

We are very pleased to announce the recipients of our latest Support for Ambition awards. We received nineteen applicati...
25/11/2024

We are very pleased to announce the recipients of our latest Support for Ambition awards. We received nineteen applications from Dumfries & Galloway based performing arts practitioners and venues, with a total ask of £39,937 for the £10,000 available. Thank you to everyone who applied.

The successful applicants are:

LUCY DOIG / Lament Tae The Lassies – Completing two weeks of creative research and development to extend her one-woman Scots recitation piece which explores the relationship between Jean Armour and Robert Burns. Mirroring the patterns of Burns’ verse, Lament Tae The Lassies uses Braids Scots and its sister language English to contemporise Jean in her own words, dramatizing the colourful and complicated relationship the couple shared and unearthing her hidden feminist story.

STUART Mac PHERSON / Waymarks – Using Tynron Doon as inspiration - a prominent feature in the local landscape near the village of the same name and one that holds a lot of significance both historically and within people’s contemporary lives - Stewart will create a series of sound pieces in response to points and locations that provoke thought and conversations about our connection to place, our sense of belonging (or lack of belonging) to places and environments around us.

ELLIE STEVENS / Tam O’ Shanter – With a writer, composer and two actors, Ellie will complete a three-day collaborative research and development process exploring how this epic tale can be brought to the stage using music, puppetry and innovative storytelling. Ellie will experiment with key themes, particularly its gender dynamics and toxic masculinity, while celebrating its deep roots in Scottish folklore.

THE COACH & HORSES / Coach Arts Hub – Since a change in ownership and management, this well-known Dumfries pub has developed its support for artists of different musical genres to present and promote their work. This award will go towards providing a free rehearsal space for emerging musicians, as well as support performance fees for local poets and stand-up comedians, as this popular music venue in the town continues to build consistent audiences for its events.

Awards’ recipients will start work in their projects early in 2025.

There is still time to get involved with the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival this year, by joining our Board of truste...
15/11/2024

There is still time to get involved with the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival this year, by joining our Board of trustees!

Do you have a strong interest in the performing arts? Would you be interested in a rewarding and exciting opportunity to add to the cultural life of Dumfries and Galloway?

We are looking for dynamic, enthusiastic and committed people who would like to add their knowledge and expertise to the wealth of experience and perspectives our current group of trustees offer the organisation and its governance.

Typically, our trustees meet four times per annum - usually combining face to face and online attendance - as well as a one-day board development opportunity once each year. You do not have to live in Dumfries to apply, although some meaningful connection with the region, or with some aspect of Scotland’s cultural sector, would be beneficial.

This is a voluntary role, trustees do not receive any remuneration, but we cover all out-of-pocket expenses, such as travel and childcare.

Sound like the job for you? For more information, including how to apply contact our CEO Simon at [email protected]

Don't forget- Held on the High Wire is coming to Dumfries and Galloway at the end of this month. 📅 Saturday 23rd and Sun...
11/11/2024

Don't forget- Held on the High Wire is coming to Dumfries and Galloway at the end of this month.

📅 Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th November 2024
📍 Eskdalemuir Hub and CatStrand
🎟 Tickets are £14 with £7 for under 26

https://dgartsfestival.org.uk/.../held-on-the-high-wire/

A candid, spellbinding multimedia performance tells the story of Jenny's near death experience, sepsis survival, and new life on metal legs. Balancing urgency, reflection, humour and wonder, the show merges Jenny's raw, vulnerable memoir with Myshkin's haunting Folk/Jazz music. It explores sudden disability, q***r family, resilience, love and transformation.Myshkin Warbler is a Dutch-American music and multimedia artist. Her ten records of original songs, multimedia performance pieces, and three decades of international touring brought her to Scotland on a Global Talent visa in 2023. Jenny Qaqundah is a Palestinian born in America, writer, cellist, entrepreneur and disability activist.

Join our Board of Trustees!Do you have a strong interest in the performing arts? Would you be interested in a rewarding ...
04/11/2024

Join our Board of Trustees!

Do you have a strong interest in the performing arts? Would you be interested in a rewarding and exciting opportunity to add to the cultural life of Dumfries and Galloway?

We are looking for dynamic, enthusiastic and committed people who would like to add their knowledge and expertise to the wealth of experience and perspectives our current group of trustees offer the organisation and its governance.

Typically, our trustees meet four times per annum - usually combining face to face and online attendance - as well as a one-day board development opportunity once each year. You do not have to live in Dumfries to apply, although some meaningful connection with the region, or with some aspect of Scotland’s cultural sector, would be beneficial.

This is a voluntary role, trustees do not receive any remuneration, but we cover all out-of-pocket expenses, such as travel and childcare.

Sound like the job for you? For more information, including how to apply, visit our website. Or, contact our CEO Simon at [email protected]

Congratulations to our great friends at CatStrand! Please head to the website to cast your vote.
04/11/2024

Congratulations to our great friends at CatStrand! Please head to the website to cast your vote.

🎶 Big News! 🎶

CatStrand has been nominated for Venue of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards! 🏆 This recognition celebrates not only the talented artists and loyal audiences who make each event special but also the fantastic team behind us who work tirelessly to bring it all together.

"We’re over the moon to represent D&G at this year’s awards," says Peter Renwick, CatStrand Arts Creative Director.

Voting is open until Sunday, November 10th. If you’d like to support CatStrand, cast your vote here 👉 www.scotstradmusicawards.com

Thank you for cheering us on! 🌟

The Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival are thrilled to be bringing 'Held on the High Wire' to two great venues, in Novemb...
25/10/2024

The Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival are thrilled to be bringing 'Held on the High Wire' to two great venues, in November!

📅 Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th November 2024
📍 Eskdalemuir Hub and CatStrand
🎟 Tickets are £14 with £7 for under 26

https://dgartsfestival.org.uk/events/year-round/held-on-the-high-wire/

A candid, spellbinding multimedia performance tells the story of Jenny's near death experience, sepsis survival, and new life on metal legs. Balancing urgency, reflection, humour and wonder, the show merges Jenny's raw, vulnerable memoir with Myshkin's haunting Folk/Jazz music. It explores sudden disability, q***r family, resilience, love and transformation.Myshkin Warbler is a Dutch-American music and multimedia artist. Her ten records of original songs, multimedia performance pieces, and three decades of international touring brought her to Scotland on a Global Talent visa in 2023. Jenny Qaqundah is a Palestinian born in America, writer, cellist, entrepreneur and disability activist.

Wondering what you could use our Support for Ambition funding for?"The Support for Ambition award meant we could be that...
12/10/2024

Wondering what you could use our Support for Ambition funding for?

"The Support for Ambition award meant we could be that bit more ambitious about choosing and programming the artists we wanted to see at CatStrand. It meant we could focus on the quality of act & creating the jazz weekend that we wanted, without the same pressure to cover event costs with ticket sales in a small rural venue."

There is still time to apply for our Support for Ambition funding for Venues, and Creative Practitioners! The deadline is the 201st OCTOBER. For all of the information, visit our website.

https://dgartsfestival.org.uk/support-development/support-for-ambition-venues/

11/10/2024

Check out what our friends at Up Yer Airts are up to! If you’re a young musician in the region, watch this space.

⭐"This award has been extremely beneficial in my creative practice and for making more professional connections." Are yo...
10/10/2024

⭐"This award has been extremely beneficial in my creative practice and for making more professional connections."

Are you a creative in Dumfries and Galloway? There is still time for you to apply for our Support for Ambition funding to improve your practice!

Through its Support for Ambition (SfA) scheme, Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival supports regionally based creative performing arts practitioners to develop their artistic vision, and technical skills and working practices.

Creative practitioners based in Dumfries & Galloway and working in the following disciplines – theatre, music, dance, film, spoken word and comedy – can apply for SfA seed funding to begin the development of new projects, and/or to develop new relevant skills, or to hone existing expertise.

DEADLINE 21st October. Find out more by visiting our website.

https://dgartsfestival.org.uk/support-development/support-for-ambition-creative-practitioners/

Calling all local venues! There is still time to apply for our Support for Ambition funding.Are you a venue in Dumfries ...
08/10/2024

Calling all local venues! There is still time to apply for our Support for Ambition funding.

Are you a venue in Dumfries & Galloway with a programme of events in theatre, music, dance, film, comedy or spoken word? Then, you can apply for our Support for Ambition funding now.

We are here to support applications from performing arts venues that show how inclusion of a production, event or series of workshops that otherwise you could not afford safely will significantly benefit your audiences or participants in your local community.

To discover more information, including the application processes, visit our website.
https://dgartsfestival.org.uk/.../support-for-ambition.../

DEADLINE MONDAY 21st OCTOBER.

Calling all local creatives! There is still time to apply for Support for Ambition!Are you a creative based in Dumfries ...
03/10/2024

Calling all local creatives! There is still time to apply for Support for Ambition!

Are you a creative based in Dumfries & Galloway working in theatre, music, dance, film, comedy or spoken word? Then, you can apply for our Support for Ambition funding to begin developing your new project, develop new relevant skills or further hone your existing expertise.

We are here to support your artistic vision, technical skills and working practices. Find out more and apply today!

To discover more information, including the application processes, visit our website.
https://dgartsfestival.org.uk/.../support-for-ambition.../

DEADLINE MONDAY 21st October.

The odds of perishing in a commercial plane accident are 29.4 million to one. Reassuring. Except if you’re on the one.  ...
24/09/2024

The odds of perishing in a commercial plane accident are 29.4 million to one. Reassuring. Except if you’re on the one.

As emergency masks plummet, engines squeal and hand baggage flies from the overhead bins, two strangers hold hands. Scared and breathless, their lives flash past as they face their final moments together.

Exploring themes of luck and choice, fate and coincidence and above all what it means to connect with someone, this captivating and thrilling show by Visible Fictions is a fantasy table-top exploration where time is turned upside down and all the things that matter start to make sense.

3rd October, 7:30pm at CatStrand. Book now via our website. https://dgartsfestival.org.uk/events/year-round/up/

Opportunity announcement!Are you a venue in Dumfries & Galloway with a programme of events in theatre, music, dance, fil...
23/09/2024

Opportunity announcement!

Are you a venue in Dumfries & Galloway with a programme of events in theatre, music, dance, film, comedy or spoken word? Then, you can apply for our Support for Ambition funding now.

We are here to support applications from performing arts venues that show how inclusion of a production, event or series of workshops that otherwise you could not afford safely will significantly benefit your audiences or participants in your local community.

To discover more information, including the application processes, visit our website.

https://dgartsfestival.org.uk/support-development/support-for-ambition-venues/

DEADLINE MONDAY 21st OCTOBER.

Opportunity announcement!Are you a creative based in Dumfries & Galloway working in theatre, music, dance, film, comedy ...
20/09/2024

Opportunity announcement!

Are you a creative based in Dumfries & Galloway working in theatre, music, dance, film, comedy or spoken word? Then, you can apply for our Support for Ambition funding to begin developing your new project, develop new relevant skills or further hone your existing expertise.

We are here to support your artistic vision, technical skills and working practices. Find out more and apply today!

To discover more information, including the application processes, visit our website.

https://dgartsfestival.org.uk/support-development/support-for-ambition-creative-practitioners/

DEADLINE MONDAY 21st October.

Address

Gracefield Arts Centre
Dumfries
DG11JQ

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Our Story

Established as the region’s premier calendar entertainments event since 1979, the Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival is Scotland’s largest rural multi-artform festival performing at 41 events in 29 venues across the full breadth of the region. Each year, the festival involves a lively and varied programme, showcasing an eclectic range of top-billed performances in music, theatre, dance, spoken word and comedy in a selection of venues from village halls to theatres right across the region. The festival has an excellent reputation for bringing top quality world-class performances to rural locations at the end of May each year. Arts Live is organised by the festival to ensure the region has access to a year-round programme of performing arts events. We’ve built up a network of venues, performing artists and promoters hosting performing arts events across Dumfries and Galloway to create a diverse year-round programme.

We are also extremely grateful for the support of both local and national sponsors – businesses who contribute greatly to the delivery of quality events that the region can be proud of. We look forward to seeing you at the Festival!