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Rediscovering Dundee

Billy Kay celebrates the dramatic transformation taking place in Dundee with the arrival of V&A and its recently gained status as a UNESCO City of Design.

Billy Kay celebrates the dramatic transformation taking place in Dundee with the arrival of the V & A and its iconic building rising beside the Tay, and the city's recently gained status as UNESCO City of Design. He also gauges the reaction of the people who live there. In a city where foodbanks are endemic e.g. many community activists question the council's priorities.

Looking across the Tay from Fife, Billy was always struck by the beautiful setting enjoyed by Dundee and defined in the city's motto "Dei Donum" - gift of God. Today though the waterfront has massive cranes, diggers, lorries and workers building a new approach to a city which has re-invented itself for more than 800 years.

Billy will look at the new Dundee where design is central to rediscovering the soul of the city, whether it is through Duncan of Jordanstone Art College or the brilliant fashion creations of acclaimed young designer Hayley Scanlon. We visit one of the Global Pecha Kucha nights where huge crowds turn out to see artists who are providing the creative buzz alive in the city.

Innovation, science and popular culture interact through a thriving computer games industry. Entrepreneur and CEO of 4J Studios Chris van der Kuyl links this to the city's history in newspaper and comic production where DC Thomson led the way.

We'll also celebrate the city's cultural creativity in music, poetry and song often linked to the vibrancy of the local dialect of Scots which has been a vehicle for everything from science fiction novels to the rap poetry of Gary Robertson who features in the programme. Sheena Wellington talks about her song Women o Dundee and discusses whether the legacy of the huge female work force survives to the present day.

28 minutes

Last on

Mon 28 Dec 2015 12:00

Broadcasts

  • Tue 17 Nov 2015 13:30
  • Sun 22 Nov 2015 07:00
  • Mon 28 Dec 2015 12:00