Scotland’s biggest free anime convention, March 6th-7th

Free. Fun. For Everyone. D-Con Scotland is the only free manga/anime art exhibition of its kind to be held in Scotland. Now in its second year, this accessible anime convention is attracting more attention and high profile exhibitors and sponsors. This year’s hotly anticipated gathering is taking place on Sat 6th- Sun 7th March in the Dundee University Students Union. Held across four floors, the weekend long event will contain guest speakers, tutorials, stalls of artwork, anime screenings, cosplay, competitions, games tournaments, live entertainment and much, much more.

The event will also be joined by a troupe of Star Wars storm troopers who will be taking over the campus for the weekend!

D-Con is run by students within Dundee University’s Anime Art Society and began as a non-profit venture to fill a gap in the ever popular manga/anime culture. The aim is to provide a free non-profit convention style event without a waiting list where students, amateurs and professionals could showcase their work alongside each other and represent the current talent available in Scotland’s alternative artwork scene.

From the outset the event received overwhelming support from companies such as Dundee based “Realtime Worlds”, practicing professionals and students alike and attracted over 350 visitors over the course of a day. Tried, tested and proven, this year D-Con is set to be bigger, wider reaching and filled with more activities, participants, exhibitors, sponsors and visitors. Featured in Imagine FX and on most UK Anime news pages, D-Con is attracting more people from across the entire UK, is being widely discussed on the internet and locally remains a much anticipated event for anime and manga fans. Despite its growth in size and popularity D-Con has managed to remain true to its original aims and will prove to be a fun, free and diverse excursion for anyone looking for a different way to spend an afternoon.

Event organizer Jamie Keddie said “we are very excited; this is a national event, organised by Dundee students and will provide a great platform for artists to showcase their work to a national audience.”

Dundee University Students Association President Andrew Smith said “we are very much looking forward to this event, the last D-CON was a huge success and brought people from all over the country and we are proud to be hosting it. This is the exact sort of thing a students union should be hosting.”

For more information, to get involved or to arrange an interview with one of the D-CON team please contact:
Jamie Keddie (president)
tel: 07935 933 293
email: mail@d-con.org.

Public lecture Tuesday 9th February 7pm

Professor Lachlan MacKinnon, in association with the British Science Society, will present an open lecture on the role of computer games and interactive entertainment technologies in ‘serious business’ tonight (Tuesday 9th February) at 7pm at the University of Abertay Dundee.

The computer games industry and its importance on the local, UK and global economies has featured heavily in the media in recent months.  Worldwide, the industry is worth over US$40 billion, with the UK industry share being over £4 billion.

As home to 12 of Scotland’s biggest games developers and the University of Abertay Dundee, a recognised world-leader in the field of computer games and interactive media, Dundee is well positioned to play a leading global role in this booming industry.  There is potential for further serious growth and development in the UK as a whole and Dundee in particular, if the right conditions can be provided.

More information.

Central Stn have some more information on their blog regarding the new V&A museum to be built in Dundee.

Georgina Follett has been seconded from her position as Dean of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design to lead the V&A at Dundee project which will deliver a Victoria & Albert Museum on the waterfront at Dundee. The project is a collaboration formed between University of Dundee, University of Abertay, Dundee City Council and Scottish Enterprise with the V&A Museum in London and is a 20 year partnership.

There is also an article on the Guardian website.

The Dundee project is being led by the University of Dundee, supported by Abertay University – the Dundee-based institution pioneering digital technologies, the city council, the investment agency Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish government.

It emerged today that the centre will be built over the water of the Tay, next to the RSS Discovery, the Dundee-built research ship used by Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton’s expedition to Antarctica in 1901 now berthed on the river. The site will be about half the size of the Baltic gallery in Gateshead, at 7,000sq metres. The Hilton hotel chain plans to build a hotel beside it.

Finally the long overdue redevelopment of the city’s waterfront area looks to be in full swing. A truly exciting time for Dundonians as well as for Scotland as a whole.

One of the rising stars of Silicon Valley will visit Dundee next week to meet with other women hoping to make their mark in the traditionally male-dominated world of technology.

Shanna Tellerman, named the world’s Best Young Tech Entrepreneur by Business Week magazine, will help to launch the Girl Geek Speaker Series 2010.

The Girl Geek Scotland organisation helps women to succeed in creative technology fields, and was formed in late 2008 by Morna Simpson, a lecturer in Interactive Media Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, part of the University of Dundee, and colleagues.

Taking place at Dundee Contemporary Arts on Tuesday, February 9th, the launch event will see Shannatalk about how she became ‘an accidental entrepreneur’, and how her company, Wild Pockets, has set out to redefine games development.

She will discuss a range of topics including how to attract funding for start-up companies, and the advantages and disadvantages of being a young woman CEO in Silicon Valley. As well as having the opportunity to learn from one of the rising tech stars of their generation, attendees will enjoy diner and drinks, and take advantage of networking opportunities with other participants.

Shanna said that empowering women in technology was a personal passion of hers, and that she jumped at any opportunity to support initiatives like Girl Geek.

‘I believe that the opportunities for women and the impact they will have on the future of technology is tremendous – we simply need to get more women involved at every level,’ she said.

‘It is important for more women to study computer science and engineering, start companies, enter into traditionally male-dominated tech industries like gaming, and get even more women funding companies as angels and/or venture capitalists.’

‘Organisations like Girl Geek will be the drivers behind making this happen. I don’t think we could do it without the organisations that help to provide women with a glimpse into the opportunities available.’

‘With the rise of social/casual games I also believe women will be in higher demand in the coming years at both small and large companies alike. Women are dominating the industry on the player side and it is more important than ever for women to inspire the creative direction of games.’

During her Girl Geek lecture, Shanna will discuss her own path from university to entrepreneurialism. She will also talk about Wild Pockets, and the company’s vision of creating a single source community and platform for independent game developers.

Shanna says she believes that innovation occurs when people are free to be creative in small teams, and that this is where the breakthroughs in every industry occur. The goal of Wild Pockets is to enable people to explore, experiment, collaborate and build games by speeding up and simplifying the process at every step.

It can be used online through a browser, an interesting technological advancement which increases accessibility. This means it is free to learn from and cheap to use as a development tool – users only pay fees when their company starts to make money.

Since the inception of Girl Geek Scotland, a group has been established in each of the four major Scottish cities, and project collaborations extend to groups in Leeds and Newcastle

There are plans for further growth that will help women in Scotland to develop their inner ‘geekness’ with support from a wide community of professionals and like-minded peers, who will also be encouraging entrepreneurialism.

During 2010, Girl Geek Scotland will hold a series of events to help women succeed in business. As the first speaker of the year, Shanna will also attend Girl Geek events in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow.

Residential Workshops, designed to equip women with the skills to turn their business dreams into reality, and to develop a strategy to deal with particular challenges they face in the workplace, will also take place.

Morna Simpson welcomed Shanna to Dundee, saying, ‘Shanna is the perfect International speaker for Dundee and to launch our programme for 2010. Wildpockets is open-source and through this, we could see a return to ‘bedroom games development’ that Dundee is so famous for.

‘It promises to open up the market to small and micro-businesses and is the perfect tool for people with a love of games and some entrepreneurial flare. Our national speaker is Dr Sophia Lycouris, who has developed interdisciplinary choreography using artificial intelligence, robotics and dance and will have great appeal to those from a media arts and imaging background.’

All guests in the speaker series will become part of a video archive, which will be available, at www.girlgeekscotland.co.uk

Shanna will launch the Girl Geek Speaker Series 2010 at DCA Meeting Room on Tuesday, February 9th. The event begins at 6.45pm, and tickets cost £10, or £5 for students with a valid matriculation card.

Notes to editors:

The Girl Geek Scotland project is supported by several local and national sponsors.

NCR sponsor the international speaker and video archive. (www.ncr.com)

brightsolid have sponsored the delegate tickets and venue, (www.brightsolid.com)

National Sponsors & Partners, include:

Leeds Girl Geek Dinners, UK Resource Centre for Women in SET, SICSA, The Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance, School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, West Yorkshire Lifelong Learning Network, NTI Leeds, Harvey Nash, Codeworks, Informatic Ventures, Interconnect, WEA Scotland, Women at Work, Kilo 75, Blonde Digital.

For media enquiries contact:

Grant Hill

Press Officer

University of Dundee

Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN

TEL: 01382 384768

E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk

MOBILE: 07854 953277

Author William Fiennes will visit Dundee next week to discuss his award-winning books and First Story, the groundbreaking scheme he founded to get young people interested in writing.

Fiennes, whose latest book, The Music Room, has received critical acclaim, will discuss ‘The Importance of Words’, the latest installment in the University of Dundee’s Saturday Evening Lecture Series.

The Music Room is the story of his childhood, a tribute to his late brother Richard, and an enquiry into the nature of the brain. It has been described as ‘beautifully written, and by turns lyrical, nostalgic and surprising’. His previous book, The Snow Geese, won several awards, and he has written for several newspapers and magazines.

Fiennes’ passion for writing, creating and reading lead to him set up First Story, alongside teacher Katie Waldergave. This pioneering project sees Fiennes and other authors placed within challenging secondary schools, working with pupils to develop their writing skills and creativity, and publishing anthologies of their stories.

They also arrange events where the students, aged between 14 and 18, read their work aloud. Fiennes explained that his talk will alternate between his book and his experiences of First Story.

‘I’ll be talking about my approach to writing, and the experience of writing these two books,’ he said. ‘I’ll be trying to weave this in with the story of First Story, and the challenges of working within secondary schools.’

‘It has been one of the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I started First Story four years ago, and it’s been constantly surprising and moving. As soon as you start engaging with young writers, you begin to see the full scope of their imaginations. The boost to their confidence is amazing and it’s really exciting to see their writing skills develop.’

‘I always go away from these workshops feeling excited and uplifted by the experiences and more enthusiastic about writing, and the power of storytelling, than ever before.’

‘There’s often a sense, among the kids, that somehow the world of books doesn’t belong to them. Often they are embarrassed to say they enjoy reading and writing because these are solitary activities that aren’t seen as being cool. We want to get kids involved in writing and show how much fun it can be.

‘Fourteen writers are now involved in the scheme, working at schools in London and Oxford, and they all say the same – that this is a really rewarding project to be involved in, and that you can see how much the kids get out of it, and how their writing improves.’

‘I would absolutely love to see the scheme expanded north of the border, and I’ve some writer friends up in Scotland who would be keen to get involved.’

The popular Saturday Evening Lecture Series – now in its 86th year – is Scotland’s oldest continuous free public lecture series, and attracts thousands of people each year to hear from prestigious, world-class speakers.

William Fiennes will be discussing The Importance of Words at the Dalhousie Building from 6pm on Saturday, February 13th. A drinks reception and book signing will follow.

Free tickets can be accessed through the University’s online store or by contacting the Events office on 01382 385564.

For media enquiries contact:

Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN

TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277

Cooper Gallery

Preview : Friday 19th March 6-8pm

20 March – 17 April

An exhibition of video edits from The Attic Archive, an independent artists archive which began collecting in 1976, in Dundee.

The works, on VHS, DVD and digitised Super 8 have been made across the span of the project, with many collaborators. The subject matter drawn upon is diverse, from documenting performative actions in 1980’s London, to urban gull colonies in Dundee, to Andy Murray Flower of Scotland.

The Archive has grown through collaborations with many artists and interaction with the Neoist and early mailart networks. Collaborations within the Archive include with Stewart Home, Karen Strang, David Zack, Istvan Kantor / Monty Cantsin, Sarah Falloon, Stefan Szczelkun and tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE.

The visitors to the exhibition will see installed works, projections and will be able to select works to view at their own leisure within the space.

Mon – Fri: 9.30am-5pm, Sat: 10.30am-4.30pm

Special Hours during Easter holidays – see website

Cooper Gallery, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, 13 Perth Road, Dundee, UK, DD1 4HT

T: 0044 (0)1382 385330 E: exhibitions@dundee.ac.uk

W: www.exhibitions.dundee.ac.uk Twitter: ExhibitionDJCAD

Cooper Gallery, Dundee.

Preview : Friday 5 February 2010, 6-8pm

6 February – 6 March

Philip Braham (UK), Eric Baudelaire (FR), Patricia Esquivias (Venezuela), John Isaacs (UK/DE), Wes Lang (USA), Richard T Walker (USA), Liu Wei (China), Matthew Wilkins (UK)

An international group exhibition of works which explore our relationship with images, what they mean to us personally and within society, how they reflect the past, present and future to us and their ability to comfort, inform and disturb us.

This exhibition bring together a selection of meaningful and works which expose and draw attention to our relationships with images. The photographic image appears in several of the works taking slightly different forms; in Liu Wei and Matthew Wilkins’ video works the photograph features in singular or collective form as a representation of a personal or national archive. Where Wei uses a familiar and shocking image from the Tiananmen Square uprising, Wilkins draws on a sweep of family photographs and the lifeline embodied in them for ‘A series of Disappearances’.

Wilkins’ film questions the life of someone known only through photographs and considers what coded message was intended to be passed through to the viewer. It lets us follow the life of a female family member from a bygone age and questions the assumptions and fantasies involved in our reading of photographs from different time periods. Wilkins considers the following questions within his practice ‘photography and film brings us closer to the world and yet the medium itself is a barrier between the viewer and what is being represented. How has the photographic medium changed the way we see our selves and the way we perceive such elemental things as time? How does the history of images inform our imagination and so influence the way we see things?’

Wei’s work ties more closely to a specific historic and current social approach to images. He is based in China and much of his work deals with the denial and ignorance enabled by censorship of images. In ‘Unforgettable Memory’ the artist takes a well known image of the resistance to the Chinese army in 1989 to the Univeristy campus of Beijing. The people he asks to comment on it either do not seem to recognise the image or they do not want to speak about it.

Eric Baudelaire’s work also centres on representation through photography and the censorship of images. Three connected works are presented, two framed gravures and a quiet observational video. The video ‘[sic]’ shows a smart book shop assistant gently scraping the ink from the pages of imported publications to erase any sign of the pubic area in nude photographs. The assistant gradually deviates from this action by obscuring and then adapting other visual elements to the photographs, extending the project to street scenes and abstract images. Baudelaire cites a source chronology for his gravures ‘Of Signs & Senses’ starting with:

1907 Article 175 of the Japanese Penal Code outlaws the sale and public display of “an obscene document, drawing or other object.”

And recounts several key abandoned legal cases that have left a grey area described here:

1982 The Japanese Supreme Court declines to clarify the concept of obscenity any further, but nonetheless acquits Oshima. In a legal and semantic grey area that remains to this day, graphic materials imported into Japan are subject to subjective self-censorship: explicit anatomical representation is replaced with ‘bokashi,’ a fogging, blurring or scratching of male and female genitalia in films and publications.

The gravures exhibited alongside are close ups of the censored pages and take an alluringly and ambiguous abstract form because of the loss of scale and texture of the print.

Richard T. Walker and Philip Braham’s work both consider nature, landscape and our relationship with it. In the Walker work ‘everything goes as if it is always away.’ a landscape photograph, which looks like a United States Illustrated Encyclopedia page, is pierced through to hear a soundtrack of winsome mountain song strumming. The letters strewn below also allude to a distance and isolation where connections and correspondence take on special significance.

Braham’s photographs are part of a series ‘Suicide Notes’ in which he has noted the Scottish newspaper coverage of suicides within the landscape and visited the sites to record a photograph of that place. The resulting scenes show a quietly energetic nature which is at once calming and foreboding.

In Wes Lang’s work the image ties both to history and to fanatical pop culture. Famous for his body of work around Willie Nelson, Lang works with collage and drawing to produce works which are precious in relationships and humble in materials. He brings images together with text and song lyrics to make totemic works that seem to be born from popular culture and would not look out of place pinned to a door in a workshop, or behind a bar. They seem motivated by desire and sometimes jealousy, and there is an implied vulnerability to mass media persuasion through marketing slogans. In an interview with David Coggins for Interview Magazine Lang says: ‘I like to take American history and then completely ignore it. I come at it visually, taking images and telling my own story. It comes out of criticism and great love.’

Patricia Esquivias’ practice shows a dedication to and perhaps an obsession with the image. The video ‘Folklore II’ is an illustrated lecture to camera where digital print outs reinforce the story which she delivers. The story is one of coincidences and connections binding two prominent figures in Spanish history together. Images of Julio Iglesias and King Phillip II of Spain (1527-1598) are linked through a series of other images, which often are picked to make more of a visual plot point than their provenance. For example when Esquivias is describing what a turning point the World Fair of 1964 was for Spain she says of the interior of the pavilion, while propping a picture of a traditional Spanish courtyward covered in floral hanging baskets on her laptop screen: ‘and the inside, this is not the picture, but they said that it was full of flowers…and very, very nice’.

Esquivias’ gallery Murray Guy describes the artists technique as follows, ‘mixing historical facts about Phillip II’s reign and tabloid gossip about Iglesias and his private life, Esquivias takes us on an educational journey from the dark isolated Spain of Franco’s reign to the sun-drenched Spain of present day mass tourism.’ (www.murrayguy.com)

Another work by Esquivias in the show is ‘Reads Like the Paper, group II’ a collection of shorter pieces which use photos, found footage and computer screens to explore the artist’s relationship with the images and the scenes within them. The narrative voiceover which the artist provides explores the physical attributes of the images and the experiences behind them. In one short piece images of buildings flash on the screen and the artist describes simply how long she stayed in each building.

John Isaacs ‘let the golden age begin’ is a work where the nostalgic imagery and materiality belie a dark history and draw attention to the danger of idealism. The artist found the saccharin page within an old nazi propaganda magazine and sweetened it further with glitter embellishment. Isaacs cited this quote from Hitler which articulates the power of the image to the propagandist ‘The art of propaganda consists precisely in being able to awaken the imagination of the public through an appeal to their feelings.‘ (Mein Kampf citations are from the Project Gutenberg-hosted 1939 English translation by James Murphy).

Cooper Gallery, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, 13 Perth Road, Dundee, DD1 4HT

T: 0044 (0)1382 385330 E: exhibitions@dundee.ac.uk W: www.exhibitions.dundee.ac.uk

Dundee Heritage Trust is proud to announce that it will be staging the first ever major retrospective of the work of photographer Iain Macmillan.

It will be exhibited at Discovery Point for three months from Saturday 27th February until Thursday 3rd June 2010.

Iain, who died in 2006, is very much a forgotten son of Dundee who deserves to be more widely- known. His lack of fame is in part down to his being a very humble man who was incredibly modest about his achievements.

The private owner of the Iain Macmillan collection has collaborated with Dundee Heritage Trust in producing the show. In doing so he is fulfilling a promise he made to his late friend that he would arrange an exhibition of his work in his home town.

For more information take a look at imaginepeace.com.