5 September 2023  

Open Call: Dundee Christmas Trees

Call out for four designers to create a sustainable, bespoke, outdoor ‘Christmas Tree’

In cities all around the world, festive tree displays are a highlight of the season. Beautiful and inspiring trees are created by designers who combine festive traditions and contemporary design.

This year, UNESCO City of Design, in partnership with Dundee City Council, are looking to commission four designers or creative practitioners to create bespoke and unique ‘Christmas Trees’ as part of Dundee’s Festive Celebrations.

The ‘Trees’ will form part of a display located outside City Churches.

Rather than simply decorating a tree, this brief seeks designers who will create a ‘tree’ which tells its own story. The design must use the ‘Christmas Tree’ as the central focus and inspiration, but final designs can take any form.

The project is seeking creative, unique designs which respond to the concept of a central Christmas Tree in festival celebrations. While the main inspiration for this brief is the Christmas Tree, we are looking for responses that celebrate the diversity of the winter period from different perspectives.

Considering the environmental impact of large-scale festivities, this project centres the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle. All elements of the ‘tree’ and its decoration must be made from 100% reused or recycled materials.

This opportunity is open to:

  • Designers and makers who live or work in Dundee (defined as living or work address with a DD1 – DD7 postcode)
  • Professional designers and recent graduates (graduating in the last 4 years) originally from Dundee (defined as DD1 – DD7 postcode)

Each designer / creative practitioners will be awarded £2500 to cover all materials, production, installation and fee.

Full brief and application available here.

Deadline for submissions: Midday, Wednesday 27th September.

Designers awarded: By Wednesday 4thth October

Install date: Friday 17th November

If you have any questions regarding the project please email poppy.jarratt@vandadundee.org 

Tip of a 2022 christmas tree covered in cut up drinks cans which are curling up like tree branches, City Churches in the background blurry
Christmas Tree made from recycled green bottles beside a fountain in Paris, another recycled bottle tree is in the background
21 September 2022  

OPEN CALL: Dundee Christmas Trees

Call out for five designers to create a sustainable, bespoke, outdoor ‘Christmas Tree’.

In cities all around the world, festive tree displays are a highlight of the season. Beautiful and inspiring trees are created by designers who combine festive traditions and contemporary design.

This year, UNESCO City of Design and V&A Dundee in partnership with Dundee City Council are looking to commission five designers or creative practitioners to create bespoke and unique ‘Christmas Trees’ as part of Dundee’s Festive Celebrations.

The ‘Trees’ will form part of a display located beside Dundee’s Living Christmas Tree at City Churches.

Rather than simply decorating a tree, this brief seeks designers who will create a ‘tree’ which tells its own story. The design must use the ‘Christmas Tree’ as the central focus and inspiration, but final designs can take any form.

The project is seeking creative, unique designs which respond to the concept of a central Christmas Tree in festival celebrations. While the main inspiration for this brief is the Christmas Tree, we are looking for responses that celebrate the diversity of the winter period from different perspectives.

Considering the environmental impact of large-scale festivities and the commitment from the city to celebrate our own living Christmas tree, this project centres the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle. All elements of the ‘tree’ and its decoration must be made from 100% reused or recycled materials.

This opportunity is open to:

  • Designers and makers who live or work in Dundee (defined as living or work address with a DD1 – DD7 postcode)
  • Designers from Dundeee (defined as DD1 – DD7 postcode) and recent graduates (graduating in the last 4 years from a Dundee university)

Each designer / creative practitioners will be awarded £2500 to cover all materials, production, installation and fee.

Read the full brief and apply here

Deadline for submissions: 12 Noon, Wednesday 5th October. 

Designers awarded: By Monday 10th October

Install date: Thursday 17th November

If you have any questions regarding the project please email contact@dundeecityofdesign.com

image of a Louise Forbes wooden spoon over the CODE Souvenir Dundee branding
19 July 2022  

OPEN CALL: CODE Souvenir Dundee Vol. 2

After great success with the launch of CODE Souvenir Dundee Vol. 1 in December 2020, the call for the second volume of CODE Souvenir Dundee is now open with a deadline of 5pm 30th August 2022.

CODE Souvenir Dundee is a collection of souvenir style products designed here in the city. More than the traditional fridge magnet, the souvenirs will vary from textiles and jewellery, to tea towels and mugs. What the products all have in common is that they evoke a sense of the city’s character or tell a story, acting as a memento or reminder of Dundee.

The catalogue is a tool to connect buyers with designers; to act as a resource for local stockists looking to include more local design in their offer, and for designers to elevate their businesses. Publicly available, aimed at corporate purchasers, retailers and the general public, CODE Souvenir Dundee is a place for tourists to find mementos of their visits, for local people to find the perfect gifts and for organisations to showcase local design talent.  

CODE Souvenir is an original concept, developed by fellow UNESCO City of Design, Montréal and launched in 2010. Since then Montréal have produced five catalogues profiling the wealth of talent in their city, increasing sales, and supporting the success of local designers.

The call for CODE Souvenir Dundee Vol. 2 is now open! Each item submitted for consideration requires a separate form to be completed, each designer/studio/company may submit up to 5 items, if you were included in CODE Souvenir Vol.1, and would like to submit the same items again, you will need to fill in the forms for Vol.2 to be entered in to this open call.

Apply here!

The deadline for applications is 5pm 30th August.

PLEASE NOTE:

An example of each item put forward for consideration for CODE Souvenir Dundee Vol. 2 must be delivered to go to the judging panel. Items must be delivered to: Our Street Studio, 34 Union Street, Dundee, DD1 4BE. The drop off slots will be:

– 16th August 10am-8pm
– 19th August 8am-3pm
– 23rd August 10am-12pm
– 30th August 9:30am-5pm
All items must be received to be considered by the panel for inclusion in the catalogue. This is so that the panel can assess the quality of the items, but also so that the successful items can be photographed for the catalogue.

If you are unable to drop off items within the designated times, please get in touch using the email address below to arrange an alternative time or postage.

After the items are selected, and successful items photographed, you will be notified about how to collect your items.
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If you have any questions, or need assistance with your application, please email poppy.jarratt@vandadundee.org

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CODE is an original concept by Raban Ruddigkeit of the Berlin agency ® ruddigkeit corporate ideas. CODE is an acronym for City Of Design and marks a city’s particular character (“DNA”).

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Several paper Christmas trees made using the origami technique on blue paper
16 October 2020  

OPEN CALL: Dundee Festive Windows

We have teamed up with Dundee City Council and V&A Dundee to create Dundee Festive Windows! This an opportunity for Dundee based designers and makers to create a bespoke, unique window display centred around the ‘Christmas Tree’.
Tell a story using the Christmas tree as the central focus and inspiration, and take viewers on a journey through your design.

Apply here by 12:00 BST on Friday 30th October

Following on from Dundee City Council’s successful ‘Dundee Windows’ project where six artists and designers transformed six empty shop windows, this opportunity presents local designers and makers with an opportunity to create a contemporary Christmas Tree-inspired display.

The windows will form part of a trail designed to encourage visitors and citizens to explore the city, and brighten up the coldest winter day, bringing in some festive joy.

We are looking to commission three designers who:

  • Live or work in Dundee (defined as living or work address with a DD1 – DD7 postcode)
  • Professional designers and recent graduates (graduating in the last 4 years) originally from Dundee (defined as DD1 – DD7 postcode).

The three successful designers will be awarded £2000 each to cover all materials, production, installation and fee.

TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH NEWS AND OPPORTUNITIES FROM DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE HERE.
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT V&A DUNDEE INCLUDING THEIR CURRENT EXHIBITIONS AND OPENING HOURS, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE HERE.
collaborative commissions
16 October 2020  

OPEN CALL: Collaborative Commissions

Creative Dundee together with InGAME, have launched their first Insights Collaborative Commission of £1,000, inviting applications that combine creativity and games to demonstrate the early-stage potential of creating positive social impacts through experimental collaborations.

At each of their InGAME Insights events, Creative Dundee and InGAME have an open call for one Insights Collaborative Commission of £1,000. They’re making this commission available to stimulate new, collaborative ways for creative communities across the city and wider region – artists, designers, makers, games developers – to come together around topics that matter.

Apply here by 09:00 BST on Monday 16 November 2020

Through this commission, the aim is to: promote partnerships between Dundee and the wider region’s creative and games sectors; provide time for collaborators to learn from each other and visit each other’s work spaces, either physically or virtually; champion collaborative learning and opportunities for experimentation; create space for concept development, with clear societal benefits; and share insight blogs on Creative Dundee’s website following each commission.

Applicants eligible to apply for this commission are:

  • A creative practitioner / business collaborating with a games practitioner / business, or vice versa. Freelancers, SME businesses, students, creative social enterprises, charities and collectives are eligible.
  • This commission is about creating new collaborations and concepts – applications must involve a collaborative partnership, therefore collaborators should not be from the same business / organisation / collective. The two collaborators must be working together for the first time.
  • Each collaborator must be based in Dundee, or within the Tay Cities region. This region covers Dundee City, Angus, Perth & Kinross and North Fife.

The commission will be awarded to a partnership who can demonstrate they have an early-stage experimental idea that has the potential to positively impact society – such as protecting and improving our environment, supporting equity and inclusion, improving health and wellbeing… The commissioned resource will be used to further scope out an early-stage digital or physical prototype.

Tickets are now available for InGAME Insights #3 on Wednesday 25 November 2020 via zoom. Book your tickets here.

To keep up to date with news and opportunities from Creative Dundee visit their website here and visit InGAME’s website here.
Travel Mug Dundee Designers
16 January 2020  

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: CODE Souvenir Dundee

Dundee’s UNESCO City of Design team are issuing the first CODE Souvenir Dundee call for proposals. This call invites Dundee designers-producers to submit souvenir items for inclusion in the first CODE Souvenir Dundee catalogue.

The goal is to select an array of items for publication in a catalogue for distribution. CODE Souvenir is an original concept developed by Montréal. Whether presented to dignitaries, partners, companies, VIPs, tourists or Dundonians themselves, the items highlight the design know-how and creativity of Dundee designers. The catalogue will be distributed in print and also available online, launching in Summer 2020.

The deadline for submissions is 5pm on the 12th February 2020.

Each applicant can submit as many items as they wish, however each item must be submitted separately.

Each submission includes:

  • A completed version of the Item Identification File (Appendix A); one file per item submitted);
  • A maximum of 3 (minimum of 1) photos showing the product;
  • A sample of the  item as it would be sold;

For full submission guidelines and information on how to submit your item(s) to CODE Souvenir Dundee, click here.

For any enquiries, please email contact@dundeecityofdesign.com

[1]. CODE is an original concept by Raban Ruddigkeit of the Berlin agency ® ruddigkeit corporate ideas. CODE is an acronym for City Of Design and marks a city’s particular character (“DNA”).

[2]. To view the previous edition of the Montréal catalogue visit designmontreal.com/en/code-souvenir-montreal.