Tending To/gether: creative network building in Scotland

Creative networks give form to what happens when we connect: building relationships, knowledge sharing, mutual support and strengthening the collective. Acting as vital catalysts for collaboration, collected agency and future making, they reinforce not only their direct communities but our places, creative ecosystems, economy and society.

Beyond rippling benefits for people and place, creative networks can challenge the existing systems that limit and separate us – rebuilding them through alternative influence, visibility, equitable practice and infrastructures of care.

Tending To/gether is a one-day participatory forum, gathering creative network builders and those interested in collective ways of working to spotlight impact, exchange knowledge and platform the critical role that creative networks play in our cultural ecology and beyond.

Tickets are free but limited, and a vegetarian/vegan lunch is included – please be sure to book to attend.

Through short talks, resources, conversation and exchange, Tending To/gether will spotlight and champion the intrinsic value of creative networks. We’ll be exploring impacts, knowledge exchange, advocacy and avenues for support alongside the opportunity to connect with peers and encounter new perspectives around creative network building.

You’re welcome to join us from 10:30am, with time to grab a hot drink and settle into the space ahead of being seated for a welcome at 11:00am, followed by hearing from guest speakers. We will pause for lunch for an hour at approximately 12:45pm before an afternoon of activity that includes guided exchange, small group discussions and a 15-minute break at 3:45pm. The event will end at 5:15pm.

If you arrive before 10:30am, the hotel’s reception area has comfortable seating and is located next to the event space.

A full agenda, with timings and speakers, will be shared in May.

Our event will take place in Apex City Quay Hotel‘s main event space – this is located on the ground floor with step-free access into the venue. The room is a large open space – half of which will be set-up theatre style for listening to speakers, and the other half with smaller tables for lunch and group discussions. We will have space for up to 80 attendees.

Attendees are welcome to move in and out of the space as they please, and space on an upper floor can be made accessible for those seeking a quiet space. People are welcome to sit anywhere within the event space they feel most comfortable, even if it is not where people are being guided to sit.

Gendered toilets are located at the entrance to the event space – there is an accessible toilet within each of these spaces.

More information about access at Apex City Quay Hotel is available via Euan’s Guide and AccessAble.

If you have any access or dietary requirements you would like us to know about ahead of the event, there will be an opportunity to share this with us when booking your ticket, or you can email [email protected].

Our venue is located centrally in Dundee, close to the waterfront – approximately a 10-minute walk from Dundee Railway Station, six-minute walk from Dundee Bus Station and five-minute walk from Dundee’s Ember Bus stop (at average walking pace).

We have a limited number of travel bursaries for up to £50 per person available, to support people who may otherwise be unable to attend the event. These bursaries aim to support freelance practitioners and/or those who lead/facilitate creative networks on a voluntary basis, and can be used to contribute to or cover your travel for the event within Scotland.

Bursaries will be allocated on a first come, first served basis until funds run out, so we encourage you to submit a request for a bursary as early as you are able to. This page will be updated when all funds have been allocated.

Please note that bursary recipients will be reimbursed after the event, in exchange for valid receipts for travel expenses.

To submit a request: please email [email protected] with the subject line 'Tending To/gether travel bursary' in the subject line. We'd be grateful if you could share a breakdown of anticipated expenses, and clarify whether you are a freelance practitioner and/or you lead/facilitate a creative network on a voluntary basis.

If this bursary would support you in attending this event, then please do feel welcome to get in touch – we want your voice in the room and these funds are available to enable folks to take part in this event.

This event has been informed by the learnings of Create:Networks 2024/25– a fund developed in 2019 by Creative Scotland, with 2024/25’s iteration designed and delivered by Creative Dundee, supported by Scotland’s Creative Networks.

The fund resourced both new and established local creative networks in Scotland to explore ways to build, grow and sustain themselves. Recipients were funded to create a 12-month programme of activity for their community, designed to enable creative practitioners and businesses to develop sustainable practices, and to explore their own structures of sustainability.

An evaluation report exploring reflections on, learnings from and impacts of Create:Networks 2024/25 will be published in May 2026. This report was researched and written by freelance practitioner Kathryn Welch.

The Create:Networks 2024/25 fund and evaluation, and this event, are supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

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Creative Dundee believes that culture and creativity are essential catalysts for positive change - that’s why we amplify, connect, collaborate and cultivate the city’s creativity. We exist to support the city’s strong creative ecology, supporting emerging and established talent to base, grow and sustain their practice in and around Dundee.

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Image description: Blue handwritten text reads 'Tending To/gether' above the words 'creative network building on Scotland. Small illustrated faces surround the text; talking and gesturing to one another. Discreet dotted lines indicate connections between faces across the image.

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