Welcome to the first post in our blog series for the Fabric programme! Over the coming months, we’ll feature stories written by Fabric participants, sharing their personal experiences and key takeaways from each session.
Fabric is a unique peer learning journey that brings together creative practitioners and community organisers in Dundee to connect, share knowledge, and explore how collective action can inspire and shape a more sustainable and just future.
In this first session, participants gathered at Hapworks on Castle Street to embark on a day of inspiring talks, playful activities, and collaborative discussions. Below, James Morwood reflects on his experience.
James is a game-maker and artist, part of Bit Loom and Biome Collective. Fascinated by play in the everyday, recently he's been drawing fantastical crowds and crafting branching zines. James enjoys volunteering with Tinderbox youth games club, Stobswell wee forest and Transition Dundee's gleaning project. Find him at https://jctm.neocities.org.
Arriving a little late at Hapworks for the first of the Fabric sessions, focused on "Play & Collective Imagination", I was excited to meet the other folk taking part. After being welcomed by lots of friendly faces, I took a seat and soon Claire Dufour introduced the day’s activities and the Fabric project as a whole. She gave an inspiring overview of the CULTIVATE project that recently concluded. One of the many approaches that resonated with me was the idea of going far together, instead of going fast alone. Hearing these words made me hopeful as I have struggled recently with burnout in my own experiences taking climate action.
Afterwards we heard uplifting experiences from other community organisers in and around Dundee. Ele Roscoe, a close friend and co-ordinator at Dundee Changemakers Hub shared the importance of understanding that Social Justice and Climate Justice are intertwined and we can help each other find the power we hold to make change in our communities. They shared the pilot projects Changemakers are involved in and the exciting new role of community journalists who are tasked with going out and finding positive news about local Changemakers to inspire and raise up those who are already taking action for a better collective future.
Lynsey Penny talked about how Transition Dundee has grown from early ideas like their Community Fridge and The Wardrobe, taking place into local public spaces to start discussions, leading to their free section that provides clothes to anyone whether or not they can make a donation. Transition Dundee took part in CULTIVATE, in collaboration with queer artist Jade Anderson, together they shone a light on actions and stories from communities that are not just about saving the planet but also the mental health of those affected by poverty: Wee Wardrobe.
This theme of going out into the community was continued with Sandy Greene from Scrap Antics sharing how making space for play in its many forms can give young people the confidence they need to be themselves. The idea that "play is how we wrestle with life to find meaning" really stuck with me. (Scrap Antics also took part in CULTIVATE, delivering free outdoor family-friendly workshops across Dundee, using interactive marble runs built from reclaimed materials to reimagine our neighbourhoods together.)
This focus on play was echoed in Suzanne Scott and Rod Mountain's Toadstool Trail project which is taking little toadstools out into nature for people of all ages to enjoy and connect with nature in a playful way. Something both Sandy and Suzanne spoke about was that having access to endless different things to do and toys to play with can actually lead to more stressful and restricted play. They talked about the endless enjoyment they had found as children going outside in the mud and playing with sticks or coming up with inventive ways to use a plank and a brick. It brought back memories from my childhood climbing trees and making dens. The connection to nature I made while playing outside as a child has led to my sense of care for the planet and I am very grateful for that.
After the talks we had some delicious, hot cauliflower soup made by Uppertunity using some of Transition’s gleaning project pickings. Soon Suzanne and Rod took us on our own wee toadstool trail in Slessor Gardens. We paired up with someone we hadn’t talked to yet. I partnered with Cara and we took an activity sheet from Rod. I had a lot of fun following the little prompts together like smelling the sensory garden’s lavender, making a universe and imitating a Dundee animal (banana seal for me and oystercatcher for Cara). All while keeping an eye out for the little lovingly painted toadstool Suzanne was hiding along the way. At the end I was ecstatic to receive my own little biodegradable toadstool which I cannot wait to decorate and hide somewhere near me.
Back at Hapworks Claire revealed the final group activity. We spread out around the room and imagined that where we stood was our home on a big collective map. The people near us were our neighbours and Claire asked us to approach some of our own real world problems by working and playing together. There were plenty of reused materials from cardboard to green netting that we could use to make a representation of our idea on the map beneath us.
Before I knew it there was already a flurry of activity! I went up to Rod and started playing my part of friendly neighbour, asking what he would like to change for the better near him. He explained his recent excitement about litter picking and asked for ideas for how to get others involved when he was out cleaning up. I suggested propping up a little sign to inspire people walking by to help out, especially if there was a spare litter picker going. Rod liked the idea and quickly got to work on a little sign while I made a fun cardboard bin that would attract people to use it.
Around the room everyone was stuck in and having fun but also discussing these large, difficult topics through the perspective of play that Claire and all the talks had given us. Shortly before the end of the session we gathered together and the idea of community journalists was brought back. A few volunteers were asked to take a newspaper template and listen to each group talk about their ideas before writing up a little article. I can’t wait to see what was written!
The first group made up of Eirinn, Suzanne, Robert, Shona and Alex, had the idea of pairing farms with schools to create space and time for pupils to grow, prepare and cook their own food from soil to stomach. All represented by a wonderful cardboard school, big cart filled with veg and even a campfire for baking potatoes. Ele had planned out a community arts center with lots of different supplies and space for people to experiment and share skills. This was alongside Eilish’s beachside wellness center, both of which were joined by a cycle path. Cara, Kirsten, Fatima and Lizzie had built an entire cardboard jute mill, converted into a community owned and run space filled with art studios, rooftop garden, cafe and even a laundromat. All the ideas were so fun and playful while tackling the problems we brought from our own experiences.
Having the space and time to slow down, be playful and discuss these difficult ideas has made me so excited for the next session and to find more opportunities in my own life to be more connected to nature and my local community. You can be sure I will be keeping an eye out for those little toadstools; they could pop up anywhere!
— James Morwood
Led by Creative Dundee, this year’s Fabric journey is funded by and delivered in partnership with Dundee Changemakers Hub – designed to foster collaboration and imagination through a series of peer-learning sessions, with a focus on community and climate action, in which participants are invited to explore creative ways of shaping a more just, sustainable future.
Read more about Fabric and this year’s programme in this blog series.