Four smiling adults in winter coats posing around a mossy standing stone with spiral carvings under a cloudy sky

Two hands weaving pale green plant fibers at a table, with glasses, a coffee mug, and an eyeglass case nearby.

Woman demonstrates spinning wool on a drop spindle as a man watches inside a thatched wooden hut.

Worn O.H.M.S. tag with handwritten address mentioning Dublin, tied to a brown patterned woven textile.

Designer Matthew McIntyre Wilson has been visiting Māori collections in Dublin and Glasgow, learning traditional European flax spinning techniques, exploring Pictish stone sites in Angus and Perthshire, and sharing some of his weaving knowledge🌿

Find out more 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/yjnhteuk

Three people in aprons lean over a workbench, examining small metal pieces and tools in a sunlit, plant-filled workshop.

2 weeks to go! 💛⭐🌼

We'll be celebrating Dundee Month of Design throughout May, spotlighting events, workshops, talks and more. 
View the programme 🔗 https://cityofdesigndundee.com/dundee-month-of-design/

📸 KT New Jewellery, photography by JillyJilly Studio.

Eight people in teal tartan kilts skipping and dancing, arms raised, diverse skin tones and hairstyles.

Smiling woman with glasses drawing a colorful landscape with colored pencils on a table, viewed from above.

Join illustrator Laura Darling for a playful drawing workshop inspired by The McManus' new temporary exhibition 'Curtain Call: Costumes from Stage to Screen' 🎭

📍The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery & Museum
📆 Monday 20 April, 5:30-7:30pm
🔗 https://tinyurl.com/bdfsdfxe

Person walking past a storefront with colorful cartoon window display and a "Cities of Design" map panel.

Hanging round cartoon disco ball with large green eyes, small red nose and purple arms against pleated gray curtains.

Smiling cartoon frog head with white eyes and pink tongue against a blue oval on pink and green striped background.

Shoppers walking past a TJ Hughes store with a metal column and colorful window display on a city sidewalk.

‘Behind the Curtains’ is a window installation by illustrator and printmaker Lauren Morsley, now on display at our Design Lives Here window space! 

📍 Outer Spaces, The Wellgate
📅 27 March  – 31 May 2026
⭐ Part of Dundee Month of Design 2026

Two speakers seated on stage with a projected yellow geometric pattern behind them, addressing an audience.

Flax-to-linen kit with flax seeds, dried stalks, bundles of raw fiber and woven linen swatches in a divided box.

Person with black backpack partially hidden in a dense clump of long, sword-like green leaves.

Three museum staff lean over a table examining a black-and-white textile; one points, wearing purple gloves.

Māori designer Matthew McIntyre Wilson has been visiting local and national collections, exploring Dundee's design story and harvesting harakeke as part of our international residency programme in collaboration with UNESCO City of Design Whanganui 🌿

Find out more 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/yjnhteuk

🎮✨ Biome Collective & Arcadia present: Big Telly Jam ✨🎮

A one-day collaborative workshop for artists + game designers to explore creative technology, digital art & immersive experiences.

Curious about creative tech?
Interested in playful media?
Got an idea you want to test?

Open vintage trunk with six compartments holding six miniature formal dresses on small mannequins.

Two women leaning over a museum display case, looking at exhibits; mannequins behind wearing a red jacket and a white dress.

Five black mannequins on raised platforms displaying varied textured and patterned dresses, skirts, and knitwear in a gallery.

Two visitors study a glass display case while mannequins in colorful and black designer outfits stand on a raised platform.

👠Catwalk is now open at @vadundee.bsky.social shining a light on the cultural significance of the fashion show, celebrating their magic, creativity and enduring inspiration!

📅 3 April 2026 – 17 January 2027
🎟️ £7-16, Members + Kids go FREE
ℹ️ Part of Dundee Month of Design

Hands trimming and weaving green plant strips into a conical woven basket using red scissors.

As part of Textile Legacies, we'll be hosting a relaxed in-conversation with visiting Māori designer Matthew McIntrye Wilson chaired by Kim Turford-Mowat, Learning Curator at Dundee Heritage Trust ⬇️

📍Steps Theatre, Central Library
📆 Thursday 9 April, 6-7pm
🎟️ https://tinyurl.com/3j7wpx9z

KEVIN SINCLAIR text beside a hanging LED light bulb with a knotted pink-and-navy striped cord and confetti-pattern socket.

Smiling person wearing a black beanie and lab coat stands behind a table of craft tools, paper cups, and a laptop in a studio.

Clear globe LED bulb with three orange filament rods in a speckled terrazzo white base on a blue table.

Our April object of the month on display at Central Library is:

🔦Hanging Lamp (2019)
📍Dundee, Scotland

This lamp, by Kevin Sinclair, was constructed as part of a 2-day residency programme where 4 designers worked in a live production space throughout Dundee Design Festival 2019 ✨

Pedestrian plaza with trees, planters and benches, colourful hanging cube sculptures, people walking, cycling and with strollers.

We are excited to be continuing work on Union Street, supporting the final phase of the pedestrianisation project 🔨 

Find out more about the co-design process ⬇️
https://cityofdesigndundee.com/projects/union-street/

📸 Union Street Visualisation by Kennedy Twaddle.

Call for a designer from Dundee for a design residency at New Lanark World Heritage Site, April–June 2026 (textile heritage).

Micro-residency: 5-day fee £1796, £150 travel, accommodation and small materials/access budget provided. Apply by 1pm 13 Apr 2026.

We are searching for a Dundee-based designer to undertake a micro-residency across 5-days at New Lanark World Heritage Site🚨

🗓️ Applications due 1pm, Monday 13 April
💷 Artist fee, travel, accommodation & materials support included
🔗 https://tinyurl.com/mv7ftd37

Weaving book titled 'Designing and Weaving Double Cloth' on folded green-and-lilac woven fabrics with wooden shuttles and thread spools

Smiling person with long gray hair and teal glasses in front of shelves holding colorful yarn spools. This is Cally Booker.

Local designer Cally Booker has recently launched her first book, published by Crowood Press 📚

'Designing and Weaving Double Cloth' explains the magic behind creating a multi-layered fabric in a single piece with clear, detailed instruction and over 500 images. Congratulations Cally! ❤️

Whanganui X Dundee: Textile Legacies is coordinated by @designdundee.bsky.social and UNESCO City of Design Whanganui and supported by the @britishcouncil.bsky.social’s Connections Through Culture Programme and The Scottish Government's Scottish Connections Fund.

Introduction to Harakeke | Forgan Arts Centre Sat 11 April, 10am - 4pm

At Forgan Arts Centre, join Matthew for an introduction to harakeke (also known as NZ Flax), a perennial plant used to weave clothing, nets, and more. Surprisingly, harakeke is commonplace in Scotland ⬇️

📍Forgan Arts Centre
📆 Sat 11 April, 10am-4pm
🎟️ £10 (lunch provided): tinyurl.com/m2ryzt6s

Man sitting in a van holding a large woven fishing trap, more woven baskets behind him.

As part of our residency programme, Textile Legacies, we're excited to host two events with visiting designer Matthew McIntyre Wilson! 🌿

First up, join us for an relaxed in-conversation with Matthew ⬇️

📍Steps Theatre, Central Library
📆 Thurs 9 April, 6-7pm
🎟️ https://tinyurl.com/3j7wpx9z

Smiling person with long wavy hair wearing large purple sunglasses on a sailboat under a clear blue sky

Retro pixel horned black demon with yellow eyes under a moonlit sky, red hands raised. Text reads "A Demon Stands before you! Creature looks ready to attack! What do you do?"

Three performers in fantasy costumes: blue suit, face wrap; white kimono, horned mask, red sash; brown puffer with horns

Clothesline over rooftops with socks and underwear, and a small yellow cartoon man hanging on the line among the laundry.

Kicking off London Games Festival 2026, Dundee-based curator and producer @susepicious.bsky.social presents a gaming-inspired Friday Late event at V&A South Kensington! 

📆 Friday 27 March, 6:30 - 10pm
🎟️ www.vam.ac.uk/event/Wl9jvzQb6a/friday-...

Person in ceremonial robe and feathered hat stands on ornate stone balcony before carved arched doorway, arms raised.

Yellow poster with grey paint strokes reading 'Dundee Month of Design May' and UNESCO City of Design logo.

🚨FINAL CALL FOR EVENTS🚨

Dundee Month of Design returns is back celebrating design exhibitions, talks, workshops and events across the city. Join the line-up today!

⏱️ Events due Sunday 22 March
🔗 https://cityofdesigndundee.com/dundee-month-of-design/

📸 Photography by Lydia Smith

Gold satin napkin tucked into a blue beaded fish-shaped napkin ring on a turquoise background. This is a dressed herring, a traditional handmade object from Dundee, Scotland.

Abertay Historical Society & Dundee Libraries' Local History Centre present an introduction to living culture in Dundee, asking us which local traditions should be included in the UNESCO Register of Living Heritage 🐟

🔗 https://tinyurl.com/2x6jc82k

📸 Dressed Herring by Elsie McGaughrin

Colourful illustration promoting a "Climate Justice Game Jam" on March 28th, 12:30-4:30pm with vibrant cityscape, diverse people collaborating, and playful energy. Illustration by Robin at Biome Collective.

Do you care about the environment? Do you like games? Join @biomecollective.bsky.social for Climate Jam – a 3-hour workshop where you create games that explore climate justice in a playful and positive way ⬇️

📍Creative Central at Central Library, Dundee
📆 Sat 28 March, 12:30pm
🎟️ tinyurl.com/2pfudssc

Work to permanently transform Union Street into an accessible pedestrianised space is beginning.

The city centre project has been awarded more than £1 million of funding from the Scottish Government, which is allowing the final phase of the initiative to be undertaken.

More here: bit.ly/4kjboFa

A blurry grayscale image of a person is displayed on a distorted screen with green text at the bottom reading, "In other words, we are creating a whole new organism."

Exciting upcoming panel discussion considering spatial and social justice and urban space design ⬇️

📍Cooper Gallery, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design
📅 Thursday 12 March, 6:30-8:30pm

Find out more 🔗
www.dundee.ac.uk/events/right...

Dundee Month of Design returns this May! Submit your events now to be featured in our printed guide 💛

⏱️ Events due Sunday 22 March
🔗 https://cityofdesigndundee.com/dundee-month-of-design/

Gallery plywood panel with photos and sketches, shelf of four pastel mugs, and a board of warm-toned material swatches.

Small wooden table with colored pencils in a yellow caddy, surrounded by cozy chairs and a bright abstract tapestry by Eduardo Paolozzi (1996).

Visitor reading a booklet in a bright gallery exhibit labeled "Welcome" with wooden displays, models and headphones.

Hands holding a small illustrated comic by Erin McGrath prompting people to record experiences of healthcare and design.

Celebrating 30 years of @maggiescentres.bsky.social + the power of inspiring spaces, Maggie's: Architecture that Cares brings together the voices of centre visitors + staff with globally recognised architects 🧡

📍 @vadundee.bsky.social 
📅 6 March – 1 November 2026

📸 @grantandersondotme.bsky.social

Friday Late: Player/Performer - Special event at V&A South Kensington · V&A Friday 27 March 18.30 – 22.00

I was invited to guest curate a V&A late!

Please come along to Player/Performer at V&A South Kensington on 27th March for a night of games and performances.

We have karaoke, LARP, drag, card games, videogames, robots and MORE

Totally free and no tickets needed

www.vam.ac.uk/event/Wl9jvz...

A pair of beaded earrings with geometric patterns in red, orange, and black, each featuring a round, striped bead hanging at the bottom, displayed on a wooden stand. A brocade clasped bag sits in the background.

A pair of beaded earrings with geometric patterns in red, orange, and black, each featuring a round, striped bead hanging at the bottom, displayed on a wooden stand.

Our March object of the month is:
👂Xilanka Pu/Brocade Earrings (2024)
📍Wuhan, China

Created by fashion designer Zhou Qiong, these earrings take inspiration from the traditional Tujia brocade, a luxurious woven textile with raised patterns often made from silk and cotton.

📸 by Grant Anderson.

Yellow poster with gray paint blotch reading 'Dundee Month of Design May'; City of Design Dundee and UNESCO logos bottom right.

Call for events — submit by 22 March, bold gray text on white brush-stroke over a yellow background.

Keep up to date — visit cityofdesigndundee.com/dundee-month-design or follow @dundeemonthofdesign on Instagram

Got a design-related event happening this May? Submit your events now to be part of our Dundee Month of Design 2026 printed guide 📖

⏱️ Events due Sunday 22 March, 11:59pm
🔗 https://cityofdesigndundee.com/dundee-month-of-design/

A person with a backpack leans over to look inside a large black periscope-like tube fixed on a grassy area.

Cityscape illustration in pink tones with buildings, a tree, a car, a traffic light, and a skyline outline in the background.

Poster for Dundee Radio Listening Festival '26 featuring a long list of featured artists. Event dates: 28 Feb - 1 Mar. Website: dundeeradio.club. QR code included.

@dundeeradio.club is back for another listening festival, this time featuring 'Sounds of the City' from Dundee Design Festival 2021 as part of the 72-hour programme📡

📍https://dundeeradio.club/
⏱️26 February - 1 March

Visitors examine historical garments displayed on mannequins, including a prominent red dress. Display cards provide information.

A woman observes a display of vintage mannequins in colorful period costumes, including overalls and a checked suit with a bow tie - these were featured in various productions by Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre.

Three mannequins display vintage dresses: a yellow gown with lace, a red and gray satin dress, and a pink polka dot dress in a museum exhibit - all designed by Jane Petrie and featured in The Crown.

People explore a fashion exhibit in a museum with mannequins displaying vintage and contemporary clothing under a vaulted wooden ceiling.

'Curtain Call: Costumes from Stage and Screen' is now open at The McManus, bringing together a dazzling collection of costumes from film, television, theatre and opera 🎭

Find out more ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/4ucu6kwu

📸 Photography by @grantandersondotme.bsky.social

Person walking up stairs that display historical astronomical milestones, including Galileo's discovery of Jupiter's moons in 1610.

A stylized rocket launching into a starry sky, with a silhouette of Dundee's The Law war memorial in the background.

Sign labeled "Telescope" with an upward arrow, directing towards a room with telescopes and a moon phase poster in the background.

Silhouette of Mills Observatory under a starry night sky with a crescent moon, set against a textured, dark landscape.

Graphic designer and printmaker Rhianne Connelly recently developed new graphics and information panels for local landmark Mills Observatory in celebration of their 90th birthday! 🔭

Find out more ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yndmn3je

📸 Photography + graphics courtesy of Rhianne Connelly.

Window in The Wellgate with a sign reading "DESIGN LIVES HERE" beside a map of the Cities of Design Network.

Abstract art and fabric display in a window with vivid blue, black, and pink hues on a pedestal against a muted curtain backdrop.

Abstract art installation with white cubic structures draped in vibrant, multicolored fabric featuring blue, pink, and black patterns.

A person in a pink jacket and green beanie walks past a store window display featuring artwork and a map of UNESCO Cities of Design.

We're excited to launch our dedicated window space exhibiting the amazing work produced by Design Lives Here supporters, hosted by OuterSpaces Dundee ❤️

Our first exhibitor is fine artist and designer Joanna Craig with an installation of silk scarves available exclusively at @dcadundee.bsky.social 🧣