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 a few bursts of laughter, questionably glittery hands and many, many cups of tea.
Below, our project leads share their reflections on an unforgettable year, followed by a round-up of key highlights and impact data.
Creative Toolbox 2025
Reflections from Georgia Blue Ireland, Creative Toolbox Lead
What a year 2025 has been.
The world has seen a lot of darkness and chaos this year, it’s sometimes difficult to shut out the noise. The community of Creative Toolbox has managed to create a beacon of light through creativity, and it has been an absolute joy to support our young participants this year. With every session we have found laughter, joy and silliness – together, as a collective. We’ve made our own stamp on what we want to see from the world, and in doing so, have proved how vital creativity is for connection, growth and positivity.
This year we had a group of twenty young people in Creative Toolbox including our Peer Mentors, our biggest cohort yet! We have gone through such an exciting creative journey together – writing group poetry, making collage prints and protest banners with Alice Griffin, redefining uniforms with Karen Solly, jamming with Paragon, becoming news anchors with Kirstin McEwan, devising a new production with Heather Taylor, displaying work at the Press Play exhibition (as part of Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival) as well as attending the Positive Stories for Negative Times festival with Wonder Fools and exploring the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Tall Ship in Glasgow.
The group has shown incredible tenacity to the project; their commitment has been incredible, which I think shows how important Creative Toolbox has been to them. I have seen their imagination and collaboration blossom, friendships form and grow, and they have delved into each creative workshop with a curious and playful nature. I think their biggest achievement was the creation of “Insanity in the Classroom”, a short film created, directed and acted by the group. A truly unique short film which asks what happens when left alone in a classroom, expertly filmed and edited by Ruari Barber-Fleming.
I am really proud to announce that we have secured some extra funding from the Arts Award Fund. This will allow us to offer participants to gain a recognised qualification in creativity and further develop their leadership and planning skills and reflective practice. Having completed my training as an Arts Award advisor, I am so excited to teach the Bronze level to our participants as part of our graduate programme in 2026.
All in all, a rather splendid year for our Creative Toolboxers. Thank you to each and every one of them who took part, their parents for their continued commitment, our associate artists, the AJP volunteers who have supported sessions, and the wider OutPost Arts team. I feel very lucky to be a part of this creative community and wish everyone success and happiness in 2026!
Art Journal Project 2025
Reflections from Liz McQueen, Art Journal Project Lead
This is my third year leading the Art Journal Project, which supports adults across Dumfries and Galloway to explore creative expression and build wellbeing through art journaling. We welcomed our biggest cohort yet – thirty people from Eskdalemuir to Stranraer and everywhere in between. We met fortnightly on Zoom with optional in-person workshops and trips throughout the year. What I cherish most are those epiphany moments in reflection sessions, watching participants make connections I hadn’t thought of or seeing confidence grow as participants share their work with vulnerability and courage. The content stays consistent, but every cohort brings something entirely different. I’ve learned to expect the unexpected.
Some highlights from 2025:
- A beautiful first workshop led by Helen Walsh (3D paper sculpture) and Ruth E Jones (clay), exploring how materials help us shape ourselves
- A joyful natural pigments workshop with Old Mill Arts
- Guest artists Martha Schofield and Elizabeth Stephenson bringing continuous line and mark-making techniques
- A summer trip to Kirkcudbright – which felt more like a road trip with friends than a formal session
- Sharing our journey publicly at Press Play, with participants volunteering to steward the exhibition
When participants tell us they’ve “repurposed” themselves or found the “visible and emotional part” of themselves through making marks, that’s what this project does – it creates space for confidence building and tools for wellbeing, however messy, however imperfect.
I’m now developing a graduate programme to keep these journeys going and deepen the community we’ve created. We’ll soon return to Zoom and journaling to support wellbeing through the darker winter months. I’m excited to introduce wellbeing practitioner Vicky Inam to the group. Thanks to everyone who took the leap: participants who trusted the process, artists who brought their skill and generosity, peer mentors, and the OutPost team and board for their unwavering support. I’m looking forward to what 2026 will bring.
2025 in Numbers: Creative Toolbox & Art Journal Project
This year, we commissioned 20 freelance artists and creative practitioners to deliver workshops, mentoring, film-making, sculpture, printmaking, music, theatre and more across Creative Toolbox and Art Journal Project. Their creativity shaped every corner of 2025!
Together, these programmes show that creativity is a lifeline, a learning space and a place to belong. Here’s to everything we created in 2025 and everything that is waiting for us in 2026!
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