Dundee Panel Discussion

Discussants

Gillian Easson is Director of Creative Dundee, an organisation which supports creative talent to base, grow and sustain their practice in and around Dundee, by connecting and amplifying the city’s creativity. Gillian has grown Creative Dundee from the ground up since starting it as a blog in 2008, by catalysing opportunities for people and their place.
With a background in using digital, design and innovation processes to support the sustainability of creative communities, Gillian values the broader social impacts which networked creativity can generate. She has worked extensively internationally, sharing strategies and practical tools, and has worked hyper locally – leading the development of Dundee’s first Creative Industries Strategy. 
Working across the public and third sector before establishing Creative Dundee, Gillian was formerly with Nesta where she ran a range of training, mentoring and grant making programmes supporting the creative industries, digital arts and tech businesses across the UK/internationally.

Andy Robertson is a community worker, designer, artist and the Creative Arts Lead for Hot Chocolate Trust, a young people’s charity based in Dundee. For 20 years, Hot Chocolate have used creative approaches to engage, build relationships, and grow community with young people, partnering with them to make change at personal, community, and societal levels. Andy’s role there includes partnering with the creative and cultural sectors to make high-quality connections with those that are often marginalised and face significant barriers to participation, and using the arts to support young people around a wide range of issues and ambitions, including mental health, trauma and resilience, education and employment, housing and homelessness, relationships, identity and activism. https://www.hotchocolate.org.uk

Dr Stephen Pritchard is an independent academic, researcher, community artist, activist, art historian, writer, curator, critical friend and filmmaker. He lectures internationally and has written several book chapters. His work focuses on issues including community art, community development and cultural development, artwashing, activist art, self-organising, creative placemaking, culture-led regeneration, art in urban contexts, and arts and health.

Robin Presswood is Executive Director of City Development at Dundee City Council, with responsibility for Planning and Building Standards, Economic Development, Sustainable Transport and Roads, Property, Engineering and Sustainability. Robin started his local government career with Tayside Regional Council, had various elected, voluntary and non-executive posts with Dundee District Council, NHS Tayside and Scottish Arts Council, before joining Fife Council in 2004, where he was Head of a service combining planning, economic development, tourism, employability, building standards, environmental health, and trading standards.  He was chairman of Dundee Contemporary Arts from 2003 to 2016.