Katharine Wheeler

Question

What lesser known stories of place does Dumfries have and how can they be shared?

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project

Our Norwegian Story grew out of a collection of workshops, public and with key local organisations, to imagine lesser known but significant stories Dumfries’ history (that weren't Rabbie Burns) and  to celebrate and share these more widely with the community. It was a small project, with a small budget, that I inherited when I first joined The Stove in 2016 which we grew into a year long Heritage Lottery funded piece of work that to research, showcase and celebrate Dumfries’ connections to Norway, and their significance to who we are now.

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about

I developed Our Norwegian Story as lead artist for The Stove with place-making collective Lateral North to learn and share in Dumfries' Norwegian connections and the significance that has today, for young and old people alike, and as part of a multi-cultural celebration of the town. We played football, shared new and traditional foods, collected first hand stories, stitched beautiful markers into map squares, with artist Deirdre Nelson, to route out a new town trail.

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During WWII Dumfries was home to many Norwegian exiles - making up at one point nearly 20% of the towns population - and becoming the headquarters for Norwegians in exile and the birthplace of the Scottish Norwegian Society and Norwegian Scottish Associations today.

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activity

6 Main participatory event though 2016 and 2017 with fringe and ongoing activity since
A new Town Trail design
A website - www.ournorwegianstory.com

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collaborators

The Stove Network team, Lateral North (place-making collective), Deirdre Nelson (artist), Paragon Music (music for additional support needs), Simon Lidwell (artist and viking re-enactment), Greystone Rovers (football club) and many more!

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A few more Links

www.lateralnorth.com
www.thestove.org

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