NEoN lights up 2024
Goodbye 2024, Hello 2025
Zine Page created during 16 days zine-making workshop
Looking back at 2024, NEoN has gone through some significant changes this year, with a move to long form programming, a move to a new premises and then saying farewell to our Director, Donna. Below are a few highlights we have been proud to be involved in the last year. We have been fortunate to work with many great charities and we look to build on these partnerships in the new year.
We started our year with lots of fun, working with Rosebank primary school, and creating sessions that advocate for digital care and online safety. These workshops created conversations around climate, sustainability and the tech landscape, through hands-on creative sessions. One example was ‘This Workshop is Rubbish’ which focused on household waste and what can and cannot be recycled.
In March, as part of Dundee Women’s Festival, we play-tested the board game ‘Right 2 Roam’, in partnership with RSPB Scotland, Cake or Dice and Abertay Games Lab. Right 2 Roam, led by Abertay University GameLab’s Mona Bozdog and Robin Sloan, adopts innovative gaming and storytelling to reimagine urban greenspaces in Dundee. Participants shared their experiences and ideas to co-design the ‘Right 2 Roam: Green Edition’, exploring themes of safety, accessibility, and conservation.
Last April NEoN Digital Arts were selected to join Critical ChangeLab, a consortium of 10 established organisations in Europe to develop a new learning model that was to use participatory, creative, and critical approaches to encourage young people to think about their relationship to everyday democracy. Working with Feeling Strong, Dundee’s youth mental health charity, NEoN discussed young people’s concerns about the future and provoked conversation about democracy, through creative and fun activities.
During May, June and July we ran Circuit – a new kind of learning space. In collaboration with YMCA Scotland, NEoN developed a 12-week programme focusing on Pixels, Vectors, and Fonts. The programme created an opportunity to gain practical skills in graphic design and online publishing. NEoN Digital Arts is proud to have been selected to deliver one of three new tech spaces specifically designed for Young People with Care Experience.
Graphic design created in Canva during a Circuit workshop
Peter Gilchrist, National Digital Project, YMCA Scotland, commented on the launch:
“Circuit is a testament to the power of collaboration and community. With the support of our partners and the generosity of the National Lottery Community Fund through the Life Changes Trust, we are paving the way for a brighter future for young people with care-experience.”
To learn more about Circuit, visit www.circuitscotland.com
NEoN also moved to 89 Commercial Street, alongside Cake or Dice, a community board game cafe to establish a new creative hub here in Dundee. Included in this move are Glowcrafts, Dundee Maker Space, and the joining us later, Dungeons n Caffeine.
In July, we were excited to introduce our first mini-exhibition in our new space, ‘What The Future Wants’. This exhibition is part of our ongoing initiatives in Digital Detox, Digital Security, and Digital Climate Action, aiming to inspire reflection and action in a rapidly digitalising world. The summer was also packed with activities including a young person interning at NEoN through Career Ready. NEoN also talked about our digital advocacy work on local and national stages, such as SCVO Diginext event and NHS Impact Showcase.
Some user testing during a Games Jam
At the start of the October holidays, NEoN hosted a two-day ‘Games Jam in Motion’ which involved groups of students from Digital Interaction Design at DJCAD and Game Design and Production at Abertay University. Participants created analogue board games around the theme of inclusive design. This event was a collaboration with Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD), Abertay Game Lab and NEoN Digital Arts.
As part of World Mental health day on 10th October, NEoN Digital arts and Dundee Central Library ran a ‘Digital Detox’ Day. Other charities involved in the day were Feeling Strong, Cake or Dice, Dundee Seed library and ScrapAntics. NEoN provided advice on how to detox your digital activities, and invited participants to create their own cardboard ‘phone prisons’.
Smart phone ‘prison’-making in our Digital Detox sessions
NEoN Digital Arts was thrilled to be part of ‘16 Days of Activism against gender based violence’ campaign again this November and December, partnered with WRASAC, Cake or Dice and Dundee Women’s Aid. On Monday 25th November, NEoN, in collaboration with Art Angel, ran a Zine-making session, around the theme ‘if we could rewrite the internet, what would an online digital safe space look like? The Zine will be published in the new year, and will be available in Cake or Dice.
Then on Friday 6th December, Dundee Women’s Aid, WRASAC, Abertay Games Lab joined NEoN and Cake or Dice in their cafe for an informal and engaging evening, to play games, create bracelets and information sharing, plus a timeline of Dundee Women’s Aid history, featuring key local and national milestones.
We topped off the year with Digital Detox session at Dundee Rep’s Climate Cafe and several introduction to AI workshops for staff and Volunteers for Dundee City Libraries.
A big thanks to all of our funders who made these amazing things happen, including NHS Tayside Charitable Foundation, SCVO Place-Based Digital Inclusion Fund, Dundee City Council’s Common Good Fund, and of course Creative Scotland.
Happy holidays, and see you in 2025!
Zine Page created during 16 days zine-making workshop
