Introducing… DG Unlimited

From the DG Unlimited team

It’s a big week for the Chamber of Arts – and perhaps the biggest piece of news is the adoption of a new day-to-day name to become DG Unlimited.

Other developments include:
• The announcement of a regional arts convention
• The unveiling of a new DG Unlimited manifesto
• A new logo to accompany the name change
• The launch of a Fresh Start funded book
• DG Unlimited’s role in an arts awards scheme
• News from the Stewartry Arts Hub

Getting back to the name – the aim is to be bright and expressive. This will be a real help as the organisation works to champion the whole of the region’s creative sector, which includes makers, managers, writers, poets, organisers, technicians, suppliers and many others on top of those who traditionally identify themselves as artists. In fact, as the membership expands, one of its most impressive features is the sheer breadth and depth of skills and experience.

In coming up with the new ID it was important to be clear that this is not a regional arts agency – neither dgArts reloaded nor Creative Scotland in the south-west. What we have built here is new and different – it’s driven by the sector and is the result of a grassroots push for change.

Many of DG Unlimited’s aims and aspirations are to do with increasing artistic and cultural engagement throughout society, pushing across traditional boundaries and helping strengthen communities. It is also seeking to project the D&G creative sector on a national and international stage, pulling in visitors, partners and customers. This sense of optimism and ambition, plus the fundamental concept that creativity dislikes borders and restraints, led to the word “unlimited”.

DG Unlimited (or DGU) is intended to respond to the needs and potential of the membership, the organisation and the sector – to be outward-looking and inclusive. A new logo has also been designed to accompany the DG Unlimited name. Once again it is all about a sense of purpose, making use of the classical infinity symbol of an hourglass on its side, but drawn in a way that is suggestive of the letters DG.

However, for everyone who was fond of the Chamber name, don’t worry, it’s far from gone. While DG Unlimited has been adopted as the trading name, the organisation is keeping its formal registration as The Galloway Chamber of the Arts (Scottish Charity SC044658).