Category Archives: Past events

Celebrating the Toon: The Importance of Dundee’s Comics – 7th December 2010

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Comics have long been one of Scotland’s most important cultural and artistic exports, with Dundee at the centre of that success. The comics produced by DC Thomson, notably The Dandy and The Beano, have commanded worldwide audiences for decades, and characters such as Dennis the Menace and Desperate Dan are known and loved by millions.

Join us in The McManus Café on Tuesday 7th December at 6pm for this talk by Chris Murray from the University of Dundee as he looks at the origins and significance of some of DC Thomson’s best-loved comic titles, as well as some of the characters who didn’t last the course, such as DC Thomson’s ill-fated early superheroes, Captain Q, The Amazing Mr X, and some missed opportunities (such as Superman and V for Vendatta).

The talk will also examine the influence of DCT’s comics, and will ask some questions about their future in a rapidly changing publishing environment. At a time when comics publishing is under threat from numerous quarters it is important to recognise and protect the legacy of DC Thomson’s comics, and to plan for the preservation of this aspect of Dundee’s cultural heritage.

Doors open at 5.30pm and beers, wine and food are all served in The McManus Cafe, see here for a full menu. This is a FREE event, but there is limited seating available for 60 people so please do arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Avatars Have Emotions Too! The Art and Science of Believable Facial Animation – 2nd November 2010

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What makes for an authentic facial expression? While there has been a great deal of scientific research examining the psychology of expressions, there has not been much research into the appearance of traditionally animated characters.

Join Robin Sloan of Abertay University on Tuesday 2nd of November at 6pm in The McManus Cafe where he will discuss the process of animating facial expressions, and will demonstrate what studio based practice-research can reveal about the believeability of animated expressions.

Doors open at 5.30pm and beers, wine and food are all served in The McManus Cafe, see here for a full menu. This is a FREE event, but there is limited seating available for 60 people so please do arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Dundee Waterfront Project: the V&A Effect – 5th October 2010

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The Dundee Waterfront Project is an ambitious long-term development project to reconnect Dundee city centre with the Tay, and is one of the most notable forward-thinking projects in Scotland today. The Dundee Waterfront vision is to transform, energise and connect the city to the waterfront, threading the city and water together to create a special sense of place.

One of the most ambitious aims is the development of the Victoria & Albert Museum site at the waterfront, the first outside London. Join Dundee Arts Cafe on Tuesday 5th of October at The McManus Cafe at 6pm with speaker Mike Galloway, Director of City Development at Dundee City Council for the latest updates on this project, and the benefits Dundee can expect from these developments.

Doors open at 5.30pm and beers, wine and food are all served in The McManus Cafe, see here for a full menu. This is a FREE event, but there is limited seating available for 60 people so please do arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Twisted by Design: Who do we Think We’re Designing For? – 7th September 2010

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Two children from an estate in Preston flank a Digital Busker of the rapper Shaks. By inserting money, tokens or texting in the busker he will play songs produced by local artists.

Join us for the first of our 2010/2011 Dundee Arts Cafe events! This talk will be presented by Dr Jon Rogers from the University of Dundee, and will be held on Tuesday the 7th of September at 6pm at The McManus Cafe (see where to find us on the right for a map).

Jon Rogers writes of his talk
“The story of poverty in the UK is well known. We have a rich set of language tools describe people as living in ‘sink estates’, ‘regeneration areas’ that have ‘wicked problems’ inhabited by the ‘underclass’, the ‘unemployed’… as people portrayed as living outside the Big Society.

A red plastic 5 metre high CCTV camera that communities can use to record local events and send directly to the local newspaper. The camera is pictured on the Callon and Fishwick estate in Preston.

So how can design work in areas where poverty, crime and poor health dominate people’s lives? It isn’t simple. It isn’t easy. And to be honest, I don’t know. But in this talk, I’ll discuss with you some of the things a team of designers, technologists and journalists are doing to re-think how we can strengthen communities in the age of the digital economy.

I’ll show you how we talk to each other and what designs we are testing in their community – from Digital Buskers that you can TXT to play tracks made by Grime Rappers in the community – to a 5M CCTV camera that can upload community activity to youtube at the press of a rather large big red button. In the course of 45 minutes or so, I would like to show you how you can be Twisted By Design.”

Welcome to Dundee Arts Cafe

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Dundee Arts Cafe is a new series of events discussing Arts and Humanties research in Dundee over coffee. Together with the University of Dundee, the University of Abertay and the University of St Andrew’s, Dundee Arts Cafe brings you the latest developments in philosophy, arts, design, history, economics and much more.

Launch Event! – Wednesday 23rd June at 5pm

‘The War for Tea: China and the British Imagination’

Peter Kitson, Professor of English, University of Dundee.
Wednesday 23rd June, 5pm, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee

Find out how tea, the Bible and opium featured in the fascinating history between these two great World Empires and discuss the long-lasting effects these encounters have on us to this day.

As China emerges once more as an economic powerhouse its influence on our lives increases day by day. But this is not something new, at the start of the 18th century, China was generally seen as a much admired civilisation more refined and advanced than the nations of Europe; yet by the end of the 19th century, it is seen as a stagnant, degraded and inferior nation in need of British technology and religion. What caused this change of opinion?

Prof Kitson will explore how this shift in thinking can be seen in books and travel writing on China from Robinson Crusoe to Dr Fu Manchu and beyond.