Focus On Dundee
A city full of discovery…
Dundee is the fastest-growing cultural city in Scotland. To celebrate we have a nine-page guide to Dundee in our October issue!
Pick up a copy to find out about Dundee’s jute and shipbuilding heritage, castles, zoo and gardens. All this alongside tips on the best restaurants, hotels and venues in the area.
For a bonus follow-up Focus, here’s Garry’s feature on the DCA, just one of Dundee’s cultural hubs…
Dundee Contemporary Arts
Building exterior of the DCA building, Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre, Dundee.
Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) is one of the city’s social and cultural hubs thanks to its central location in the Nethergate. It has two contemporary art galleries, a two-screen cinema, a print studio, a visual research centre and a café bar.
It opened in March 1999, but the idea of a visual arts centre in the city began many years previously. Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, now within Dundee University, is one of the leading art colleges in the UK. What Dundee lacked, was a place to showcase visual arts – thus, the DCA – and was born, now joined by V&A Dundee to host the best in design.
A partnership was formed between the Council, the University of Dundee and a newly formed company, Dundee Contemporary Arts, initiated by Dundee Printmakers Workshop. It was led by Sheena Bell (founding Chair), Douglas Black, Steve Grimmond, Ian Howard, John McDougall and Charles McKean. In March 1995, the Council purchased a semi-derelict garage at 152 Nethergate, and the DCA was born.
The final cost of the construction was £9 million. The centre currently receives approximately 380,000 visitors per year and in 2016 was listed in the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) top 10 of Scotland’s top 100 buildings of the 20th century.
For more information, go to www.dca.org.uk
The interior of the Jute Cafe, at the DCA in Dundee.
For more great content, including our Focus On Dundee,
pick up The Scots Magazine‘s October issue!
Find out where you can pick up a copy here.
