Alongside patient-focused programmes, OutPost Arts continues to deliver dedicated Staff Wellbeing Workshops for teams at NHS Dumfries and Galloway, creating space for colleagues to pause, connect and recharge through creativity. In recent months, teams from Mountainhall have taken part in workshops exploring printmaking and clay with artists Helen Walsh, Julie Stephen, Alice Griffin and Ruth Elizabeth Jones. Printmaking & Play: Clinical Education & Psychology Teams Workshops for the Clinical Education Team and the Psychology Team introduced staff to block printing,… Read more

As part of the Healing Arts Scotland 2026 Dumfries & Galloway Day, in partnership with The Crichton Trust and NHS D&G, OutPost Arts has commissioned artist Jim Buchanan to develop two land art installations across Mountainhall and The Crichton Estate Greenspaces. This evolving project explores how greenspaces can be activated through creative practice, encouraging people to connect with nature, movement and mindful wellbeing over time. At Mountainhall, Jim is creating a mown labyrinth, a simple, circular pathway designed for walking,… Read more

Art Journal Project participants have now moved into the Graduate Programme, but before we share more about this, we are looking back on their year of creative exploration with Liz McQueen. Now in its third year, the project has continued to grow in both scale and reach – this year, we welcome our largest and most geographically diverse cohort yet, with 30 participants joining from across Dumfries & Galloway. It has been a pleasure to bring together these individuals who… Read more

We are delighted to share an exciting new exhibition now on display at DGRI by Dumfries & Galloway-based photographer Callum Malone. Bringing together a striking collection of street photography captured across the Dumfries area, Looking Out presents a series of images that observe everyday life as it unfolds, documenting people, passing moments and quiet corners that shape the character of the region. From the energy of busy public gatherings to fleeting instances of stillness and solitude, the photographs form an intimate visual… Read more

As our Creative Toolbox Participants move into the Graduate Programme, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the wonderful and uplifting year they have had. We welcomed 20 new young people in May 2025, our largest cohort yet, and the project has since grown and evolved into a space full of curiosity, connection and creativity. Alongside our five dedicated peer mentors, the Creative Toolbox participants brought lots of fresh energy and an openness and willingness to explore and have fun,… Read more

Between September and November 2025, Midpark Hospital once again became a vibrant centre of creativity as the second block of Art Matters workshops invited patients, staff and visitors to explore Nature Ceramics and Textiles with artists Ruth Elizabeth Jones and Helen Walsh.  Across six sessions, participants were encouraged to slow down, try something new and enjoy the grounding, sensory experience of working with clay and textiles.  In Ruth’s ceramics workshops, participants created leaf-imprinted tiles, explored hand-building techniques and experienced the calm that comes from shaping clay by hand. In Helen’s textile sessions, embroidered… Read more

Visitors to Galloway Community Hospital are now being welcomed by a striking new mural that beautifully captures the town’s rich healthcare history.  Commissioned by OutPost Arts, coordinators of Art in Healthcare in partnership with NHS Dumfries & Galloway, the illustrated installation titled “The History of Healthcare in Stranraer” transforms the hospital’s waiting area into a visual journey through time.  Created in collaboration with hospital staff and local illustrator Alice Griffin, the mural tells the evolving story of healthcare in Stranraer, from early infectious disease hospitals and maternity services to modern… Read more

We are delighted to have been awarded £282,199 through the Scottish Government’s Culture Collective fund, administered by Creative Scotland, to deliver a new community-led arts and wellbeing programme across North West Dumfries.  The funding will support Creating Space NW Dumfries, an 18-month project bringing together the communities of Lochside, Lincluden, Summerhill and Sandside through creative activity designed to improve wellbeing, strengthen local identity and increase access to culture.  Culture Collective supports organisations across Scotland to work with communities to shape the cultural life of their local areas. In 2026, twenty-three projects were… Read more

A reflection from our Creative Health & Wellbeing Director, Lucy Bell Where to begin on the highlights of 2025?  From my perspective as Director, this year has been about embedding – seeing partnerships and projects developed since 2023 take root and establish themselves in meaningful ways. The work is now bearing fruit, sometimes in expected ways and sometimes in ways that surprise us – which, in the arts and the third sector, is often where the most interesting learning happens.  Across DG Creative Wellbeing, we’ve continued… Read more

2025 has been another wonderful year for both Creative Toolbox and Art Journal Project, two programmes that sit at the heart of DG Creative Wellbeing. Together, they supported over 50 adults and young people from across Dumfries & Galloway to explore creativity, strengthen confidence, build friendships and discover new ways of understanding themselves and the world around them. This year brought growth, experimentation, collaborations, exhibitions, filmmaking, road trips and countless lots of little pockets of joy, along with more than… Read more