This May, the city played host to the first ever Dundee Design Month. The event celebrates the abundant design activity happening in Dundee within the month of May, coinciding with the annual Dundee Design Festival.

With the launch of the V&A this September, Dundee Design Month adds to the growing number of events celebrating the city’s vibrant design-driven identity.

If you missed Dundee Design Month or simply want to relive it again, here’s a brief overview of some of the key events:

FACTORY SHOP

A major event within the programme is the annual Factory Shop, a temporary exhibition space on Reform Street in the city centre. Hosting exhibitions, talks and workshops, the gallery space features products and prototypes made by designers in factories. Last year’s Factory Shop transformed the former factory space West Ward Works into an inclusive and immersive gallery space and this year’s event has done much the same, temporarily breathing new life into an empty retail unit by opening it up to the public.

DUNDEE FASHION WEEK

Dundee Design Month 2018 included the debut event Dundee Fashion Week, an inclusive community enterprise to nurture the city’s growing creative scene. Hosting exhibitions, parties and style awards, the event also included a catwalk finale in The Caird Hall featuring new collections from local designers and one-off pieces from Fashion students at Dundee & Angus College. Hopefully becoming another annual event, this will add to the city’s growing social calendar and the wealth of design-related activity in Dundee.

DJCAD DEGREE SHOW

Dundee Design Month also encompasses the annual DJCAD Degree Show where local Art & Design students exhibit their final year projects. The Degree Show opening night is a big event on the city’s social calendar, with street parties and events hosted by local businesses. The city centre has a real atmosphere around the Degree Show so it’s a great time to come and visit the exhibition and be a part of that buzz.

OPEN/CLOSE

(Image via Twitter.)

New artworks for the Open/Close Street Art Trail in Stobswell were also completed in time for Dundee Design Month and the Open/Close Movie was screened at DCA as part of the programme of events. Produced by Russell Pepper and Jon Gill, the movie was made entirely on an iPad! You can find out more about the street art trails and view the city centre murals here. #MadeOnAMobile

PECHA KUCHA NIGHT VOL. 21

(Image via Creative Dundee website. Artwork by Steven Peebles, commissioned by the young people steering group.)

PechaKucha (Japanese for Chit Chat) is a presentation format where speakers show 20 images and talk about each of them for 20 seconds. The format originated in Tokyo and now takes place in over 1000 cities worldwide, including our very own UNESCO City of Design. Pecha Kuchas are usually design-orientated, providing opportunities for networking, meeting new people and showcasing creative work.

Pecha Kucha Night Vol. 21 was part of Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018, a countrywide initiative to unite and give voice to Scotland’s youth. Hosted by Creative Dundee and organised by young people, the speakers included local artist C. Gull and Dundee-based youth work organisation Hot Chocolate Trust. You can watch some of the previous Pecha Kucha Night speakers here .

And this is just a small cross-section of the events that happened in May!

The diversity of events and the wealth of creative talent in the city are a testament to how Dundee has successfully used culture and innovation to foster real social and economic change. Dundee Design Month is all about creating positive change in the city and celebrating the vibrant creative network the city has to offer.