Tending To/gether: creative network building in Scotland

Creative networks give form to what happens when we connect: building relationships, knowledge sharing, mutual support and strengthening the collective. Acting as vital catalysts for collaboration, collected agency and future making, they reinforce not only their direct communities but our places, creative ecosystems, economy and society.

Beyond rippling benefits for people and place, creative networks can challenge the existing systems that limit and separate us – rebuilding them through alternative influence, visibility, equitable practice and infrastructures of care.

Tending To/gether is a one-day participatory forum, gathering creative network builders and those interested in collective ways of working to spotlight impact, exchange knowledge and platform the critical role that creative networks play in our cultural ecology and beyond.

Tickets are free but limited, and a vegetarian/vegan lunch is included – please be sure to book to attend.

Through short talks, resources, conversation and exchange, Tending To/gether will spotlight and champion the intrinsic value of creative networks. We’ll be exploring impacts, knowledge exchange, advocacy and avenues for support alongside the opportunity to connect with peers and encounter new perspectives around creative network building.

You're welcome to join us from 10:30am, with time to grab a hot drink and settle into the space ahead of being seated for a welcome at 11:00am, followed by hearing from guest speakers and an introduction to Community Wealth Building for creative networks. We will pause for lunch for an hour at approximately 12:45pm before an afternoon of activity that include peer-exchange, ecosystem mapping and a 15-minute break at 3:30pm. The event will end at 5:15pm.

If you arrive before 10:30am, the hotel’s reception area has comfortable seating and is located next to the event space.

A full agenda, with timings and speakers, will be shared in May.

We’ll hear insights from four people working across Scotland in network building, sharing experience and impacts of the work they do.

Ica Headlam is the founder and director of We Are Here Scotland, a non-profit organisation that aims to amplify the voices of Black and Global Majority artists and creatives across Scotland through advocacy, mentoring, professional development, events, and collaborative projects. Until 2023 he worked as a qualified children and family’s social worker, with 11 years of experience supporting vulnerable young adults, and families across Aberdeen. In 2017 he started to independently produce and host the fortnightly Creative Me podcast, exploring creativity, art, and culture in the North East of Scotland. Ica is a strong advocate for representation across the arts and values the importance of open and honest dialogue.

Rebecca Lee is founder of Universal Recognition CIC, a disabled-led movement platforming the positive impact of accessibility in placemaking and public services. Rebecca was Accessibility Lead with DEAL (Doughnut Economics Action Lab). She brings accessible co-design into cultural and community initiatives. She is invisibly disabled and a former young carer. Rebecca knows the importance of collective-imagination and lived-expertise in nurturing futures fit for us all.

Hayley Jane Dawson is a Glaswegian artist and writer whose practice centralises the lives, archives, and histories of working class people in Scotland. Dawson’s practice spans critical writing, publishing, and visual art. In 2024 they founded the Scottish Working Class Network, a platform dedicated to supporting and amplifying working class voices in the arts, as well as fostering community and solidarity within the sector.

Kirsten Body works in visual arts and has held production roles within contemporary galleries, public art agencies, local authorities and learning for the Scottish Artists Union. With a strong interest in self-organising practices; Kirsten is a founding member of Circus Artspace – an artist-run organisation based in Inverness built on collaboration, conversation and supporting emergent practice.

We’ll also be joined by Susie Buchan, who will host an Unconference to encourage peer-sharing and exchange. Susie is a freelance creative producer, curator and performance artist working at the intersection of videogames and arts. She’s currently producing an unannounced game with Milktooth, a new indie games studio. She is a Director of Dundee-based creative studio and community Biome Collective and Producer of Arcadia Festival. Past work includes Player/Performer at V&A Late, Now Play This, Pause Play at A Maze 2024 and Downpour. She’s passionate about cross-disciplinary collaborations, fostering supportive communities and exploring creativity in unique and thought-provoking ways.

Our event will take place in Apex City Quay Hotel‘s main event space – this is located on the ground floor with step-free access into the venue. The room is a large open space – half of which will be set-up theatre style for listening to speakers, and the other half with smaller tables for lunch and group discussions. We will have space for up to 80 attendees.

Attendees are welcome to move in and out of the space as they please, and space on an upper floor can be made accessible for those seeking a quiet space. People are welcome to sit anywhere within the event space they feel most comfortable, even if it is not where people are being guided to sit.

An access box with items that people are welcome to use while they are at the event (including things like stim toys, communication badges and ear defenders) will be available, with thanks to Neuk Collective.

Gendered toilets are located at the entrance to the event space – there is an accessible toilet within each of these spaces.

More information about access at Apex City Quay Hotel is available via Euan’s Guide and AccessAble.

If you have any access or dietary requirements you would like us to know about ahead of the event, there will be an opportunity to share this with us when booking your ticket, or you can email [email protected].

Our venue is located centrally in Dundee, close to the waterfront – approximately a 10-minute walk from Dundee Railway Station, six-minute walk from Dundee Bus Station and five-minute walk from Dundee’s Ember Bus stop (at average walking pace).

For those travelling by car, there is free parking for attendees during the hours of the event, but this is on a first come, first served basis. For those travelling by bike, there is a bike rack by reception that is available on a first come, first served basis.

We have a limited number of travel bursaries for up to £50 per person available, to support people who may otherwise be unable to attend the event. These bursaries aim to support freelance practitioners and/or those who lead/facilitate creative networks on a voluntary basis, and can be used to contribute to or cover your travel for the event within Scotland.

Bursaries will be allocated on a first come, first served basis until funds run out, so we encourage you to submit a request for a bursary as early as you are able to. This page will be updated when all funds have been allocated.

Please note that bursary recipients will be reimbursed after the event, in exchange for valid receipts for travel expenses.

To submit a request: please email [email protected] with the subject line 'Tending To/gether travel bursary' in the subject line. We'd be grateful if you could share a breakdown of anticipated expenses, and clarify whether you are a freelance practitioner and/or you lead/facilitate a creative network on a voluntary basis.

If this bursary would support you in attending this event, then please do feel welcome to get in touch – we want your voice in the room and these funds are available to enable folks to take part in this event.

This event has been informed by the learnings of Create:Networks 2024/25– a fund developed in 2019 by Creative Scotland, with 2024/25’s iteration designed and delivered by Creative Dundee, supported by Scotland’s Creative Networks.

The fund resourced both new and established local creative networks in Scotland to explore ways to build, grow and sustain themselves. Recipients were funded to create a 12-month programme of activity for their community, designed to enable creative practitioners and businesses to develop sustainable practices, and to explore their own structures of sustainability.

We’re excited to share a new report, collecting the funding reflections, learning and impact of Create:Networks 2024/25. This evaluation process, delivered by freelance practitioner Kathryn Welch, will directly inform Tending To/gether, with more exploring and advocacy to come beyond this. Also available to read are two summary papers – one tailored to network investors and enablers, and another for those building and caring for creative networks.

The Create:Networks 2024/25 fund and evaluation, and this event, are supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

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Creative Dundee believes that culture and creativity are essential catalysts for positive change - that’s why we amplify, connect, collaborate and cultivate the city’s creativity. We exist to support the city’s strong creative ecology, supporting emerging and established talent to base, grow and sustain their practice in and around Dundee.

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Image description: Blue handwritten text reads 'Tending To/gether' above the words 'creative network building on Scotland. Small illustrated faces surround the text; talking and gesturing to one another. Discreet dotted lines indicate connections between faces across the image.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Apex City Quay Hotel & Spa, 1 West Victoria Dock Road, Dundee, United Kingdom

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