Mary Slessor – No Ordinary Missionary – Tuesday 3rd March 2015, 6pm

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Poster imageMary Slessor was an Aberdeen quine, who moved to Dundee in the 1850’s when the mills were at their height and worked tirelessly with the Church to improve lives for the working class. She then moved on as a Missionary to ‘The Calabar’ in modern day Nigeria. Here she fought for the lives of children, women, and slaves; for human rights. She was brave and feisty, warm and untiring in her struggle.  She also outlived all her family in Dundee despite the risks in the Calabar, also known as “The White Man’s Grave.” In the Calabar she is known still as “The Mother of all Peoples”, yet here her story is relatively unknown, despite featuring on the Clydesdale Bank £5 note!

With biographical story, song and personal insight, Ruth Kirkpatrick weaves the threads of Mary’s remarkable life, into a rich tapestry, to commemorate the centenary of her death.

Born in the North East of Scotland, Ruth Kirkpatrick has performed at Storytelling festivals all over, including India, Singapore, Iceland and Dubai. Her strength is in forming a warm rapport with her audience, respecting the tradition but giving her performance a personal, feisty sparkle.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic. Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.

 

Seeing Double: The Colour Blind Test Series – Tuesday 3rd February 2015, 6pm

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Artist David Lyons hides visual messages in Goatsplain sight by investigating the idea that artwork can be intentionally created to be experienced differently dependent on one’s visual abilities. His work both communicates unique details to individuals with colour blindness and contains imagery visible only to those with typical colour vision.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.

Dundee and the Great War: Patriotism and Propaganda – Tuesday 2nd December 2014, 6pm

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Dundee became a leading centre of British press patriotism and propaganda. As ‘war hysteria’ quickly reached fever pitch the Dundee press encouraged the public to actively participate in their campaign to pillory any ‘shirker’ not in uniform and castigating as ‘lunatics’ or ‘liars’ any Conscientious Objectors (COs) who refused military service.

This talk examines how the Dundee press helped promote and encourage military recruitment and public patriotism during the Great War.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.

What Shape Is The Internet In? Tuesday 4th November 2014, 6pm

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The way in which we retrieve Future of the Internetand consume information has changed considerably in recent years, with the evolution of the digital world fast developing. Is this the future, or is there radical change to come?

From arts, science, culture, and policy, Prof Jon Rogers will discuss a new way of thinking about digital and the web. In this talk, he describes his work with various organisations, including NASA, Mozilla, BBC, the Met Office, and Microsoft, and discusses what shape the future of the internet might be.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.

The Referendum: Taking Stock – Tuesday 7th October 2014, 6pm

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Three weeks after Scotland’s independence referendum, Prof Chris Whatley, Scottish historian and author of the acclaimed The Scots and the Union: Then and Now (2014), reflected upon the campaign for independence, the result, and the future for Scotland, either within or outside the UK. Chris charted the emergence of the movement for Scottish independence and identified the successes and failings of the Yes and Better Together campaigns.

He discussed the result in the context of the long history of the British union state, and argued that the Union, as envisaged in 1707, and as it had developed over the subsequent three centuries and more, is no longer fit for purpose. But is Britain broken? Are we now closer to the situation Scotland and England were in before 1707 but after the union of the crowns in 1603? Or is this arrangement too – with Scotland and England sharing a single monarch – outdated and under threat? What of Scotland’s relationship with England – and the rest of the UK – in future?

Shaping our Creative City – Tuesday 2nd September 2014, 6pm

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If you missed Gillian Easson’s inspiring and thought-provoking talk you can watch it here

Dundee is at a unique point in time, a city with a major transformation underway, it’s shape, size and scope present a number of opportunities for its citizens. Gillian Easson from Creative Dundee will look at some of the creative initiatives happening across Dundee and consider some projects happening around the world, which are helping shape cities of the future.

Creative Dundee amplifies and connects talent, through its online platform, events and partnerships. Founded in 2008, before the current developments were on the horizon, Creative Dundee has been involved in a number of grass-roots projects including We Dundee, the crowd sourcing campaign which saw almost 4,000 contribute their ideas to the future of the city.

Dundee Arts Cafe is Back with a Bang!

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That’s right – Dundee Arts Cafe is back. Your regular monthly conversation about the arts will return to the cafe at The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum on Tuesday 2nd September 2014. A look at creativity in Dundee and the role it is playing in driving the regeneration of the city will launch the new series.

Gillian Easson (Creative Dundee) will look at how Dundee is a city with a major transformation under way and how its shape, size and scope present a number of opportunities for its citizens as well as comparing some of the creative initiatives happening across Dundee and consider some projects happening around the world, which are helping shape cities of the future.

This will be followed by a further eight talks that share creative and cultural ideas in a relaxed and inclusive environment.

The full programme of the 2014/15 Dundee Arts Cafe series will be available soon in printed and electronic form.

Whose Transition Is It Anyway? Tuesday 6th May 2014, 6pm

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Starting school, moving classes or moving schools are exciting progressions in the life of every child, however some children find these educational transitions difficult. To understand how to helpimage3 children make these transitions a wealth of research has been undertaken that focusses on the pupil.

Divya Jindal-Snape argues that we also need to understand these transition from the viewpoint of parents, siblings and teachers – termed ‘significant others’. The impact of the pupil’s transition on significant others is under-researched and not considered fully in educational practice.

This talk will highlight Divya’s research which explores the interaction between the transitions of the child and significant others and reinforces the importance of involving significant others during transitions. We will also discuss creative ways that can be used by parents, teachers and other professionals to support transitions of children starting school, moving to new classes or schools.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.

Rethinking Art and the Highlands – Tuesday 15th April 2014, 6pm

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The Scottish Highlands have given rise to one of the great oral, literary and musical cultures of the world, but the visual aspect of that Gaelic culture has received relatively little attention, even William McTaggartthough it is known to be important. Consider, for example, the monks of Iona creating the Book of Kells at the beginning of the 9th century or the Gaelic speaking painter William McTaggart laying the foundations for modern Scottish art in the late 19th century. Seventeen pieces of McTaggart’s paintings are stored or on display in The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum collection.

The purpose of this talk is to explore research into that culture of Highland art both through art history and the art of today. From 2005 to 2011 a major collaboration between Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art at the University of Dundee and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic College of the University of the Highlands and Islands made that research possible. It continues today.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.