Dundee’s ‘Generator Projects’ Turns Thirty
By Anna Barlow
With one in four Scottish artists claiming that they cannot afford to stay in the art industry, community support is more important than ever. In a report for the MSPs, the Scottish Artists Union Vice President, BD Owens, states ‘artists are facing challenges on multiple fronts: fewer paid opportunities from arts organisations and local councils, complicated Creative Scotland Grant applications, [and] soaring studio rental cost.’ However, the second-oldest artist-run space in Scotland, Generator Projects, provides a much-needed mitigation of this pressing issue.
Art Night at Generator Projects, 2023. Image courtesy of Generator Projects.
Founded in 1996, the Dundee-based non-profit functions as a crucial platform to mutually support local artists and audiences, operating in a ‘radically democratic’ and ‘non-hierarchical’ manner. Based upon the belief that access to art is a right, the organisation keeps its exhibiting spaces and workshops free to enter and attend, offering paid opportunities to emerging practitioners. In this way, Generator Projects works in the tradition of ARIs (Artist-Run Initiatives): ‘non-profit, collaborative, grassroots, membership-based spaces that exist to foster and sustain creativity and participation in the arts.’
Members Show, 2026, photograph. Image courtesy of Generator Projects.
Approximately six exhibitions are hosted per year that orientate this ethos, but the clearest example of its commitment to the wider Scottish artist community is in the Members Show. Every member is invited to submit a piece of work completely free of charge to be shown in a professional gallery regardless of experience, career stage, or artistic style: a golden opportunity for contemporary creatives.
This small snapshot of the events organised by Generator showcases the drive to enable the development of artistic practices and, importantly in the present financial landscape, to help alleviate economic insecurity.
Generator Projects, #1996 30th Birthday Party, 2026. Image courtesy of Generator Projects.
This October, Generator Projects is celebrating its 30th birthday: the ‘#1996 week’ programme draws on three decades of archive and institutional memory, arriving amid recent blows to the Scottish Arts sector. The celebration unfolds over six days of back-to-back events, finding a timely balance between looking to past ventures and looking forward to new avenues. Monday the 5th opens with a preview of the 30th Birthday Exhibition, followed on Tuesday the 6th by a curated selection of archive material.
Midweek events turn from historical reflection to practical participation. Wednesday the 7th brings a disco ball workshop by Lara McSorley, followed by a talk from Lizzie Day on starting one’s own initiatives, reinforcing the ARI model at the heart of Generator Projects. On Thursday the 8th, a collage workshop makes use of excess archival posters, offering tangible testimony to how the organisation’s predecessors laid a groundwork for today’s ability to create.
The week closes in celebratory style: Friday the 9th is a night of live performance art, inspired by recently a discovered transcript, honouring those who helped shape the organisation. Generator Projects describes the aim as ‘bringing a fragment of our history back to life into a new, quippy context’. Saturday the 10th concludes with ‘Our Big Birthday Party’, an evening of music and art to bring together local musicians for an ‘eclectic soundscape’.
Committee member Kyla Ylanan reflected on the significance of the occasion. Of landmark anniversary, she told HASTA that the collective ‘has weathered two freak floods, freezing winter temperatures that can make the galleries feel baltic, and all the inevitable challenges that come with running a grassroots arts organisation.’ Yet it is still here and thriving, which attests to decades of committee dedication and unwavering mission. Ylanan described how her research has shed light on its rich history: ‘Looking through the archive has really highlighted that Generator’s history isn’t just a history of exhibitions or events - it’s a history of the people who have kept showing up and making it what it is. I think that’s what makes reaching 30 such a significant milestone.’
This birthday recognises not only Generator Projects’ valuable contemporary work but also more than a quarter of a century of service to the Scottish Arts. You can join the party this week on Mid Wynd Industrial Estate, Dundee.
Bibliography
Ferguson, Brian. ‘“Cultural Brain Drain”: How Scottish Artists Struggle on Less Than £9K a Year’. The Scotsman, 21 August 2024. https://www.scotsman.com/news/edinburgh-art-festival-culture-visual-art-brain-drain-4747947.
Generator Projects. ‘About’. Generator Projects, 2026. https://www.generatorprojects.co.uk/about.