V&A Dundee announces festive programme

There’s so much to see in and around V&A Dundee this Christmas. From the local community co-designed Christmas tree and New Year’s Day lunch at Tatha, there is plenty to experience for the whole family.

Explore the design process in the Thomson Learning Centre and watch community groups creating the full spectrum of performance with the taboo project film. Interact and play in the Listening to Joyplayscape in the Locke Hall, a safe and colorful environment designed by Yinka Ilori.

The festive fun spills out into the waterfront and Slessor Gardens with Dundee’s WinterFest, giving plenty to make a day of it!

50% off Night Fever

Come to Dundee and have a Christmas clubbing celebration with 50% off all tickets to Night Fever: Designing Club Culture. Enjoy a last chance to see the exhibit before 9 January and experience the joy and design stories of iconic clubs from across Scotland and around the world.

V&A Dundee can offer this discount thanks to VisitScotland’s Great Day’s Out Scotland scheme. To claim 50% off Night Fever tickets, simply pre-book online at https://www.vam.ac.uk/dundee/exhibitions/night-fever-designing-club-culture adding discount code DAYSOUT.

Night Fever: Designing Club Culture at V&A Dundee is supported by players of People's Postcode Lottery.

Festive opening hours

V&A Dundee closes at 16.00 on 24 December and reopens daily 10.00 – 17.00 from 27 December right through to 9 January 2022. The museum is open on both 1 and 2 January 2022.

Night Fever: Designing Club Culture is open at V&A Dundee until 9 January 2022.

Families Outside Christmas Tree

This year’s Christmas tree, Light Fever, will bring festive joy to visitors. The decorations were co-created with designer Hannah Ayre and participants from Families Outside, a charity which supports families in Scotland affected by imprisonment.

Screening of taboo film

In the Juniper Auditorium watch a screening of taboo, the performance design project created by participants from LGBT Youth Scotland and Front Lounge with theatre company hidden route. Participants considered real and imagined clubbing experiences which they then performed in the museum. The process involved exploring the full spectrum of design including set design, movement, sound and costume design. taboo will run until 9 January 2022.

Every Where Design

Also in the Thomson Learning Centre is the Every Where Design showcase from Dundee Design Festival 2021, giving another chance to see this year’s projects and explore the hidden design that exists all around us.

Pick up a waterfront design trail or family-friendly activity sheet, take a seat in the studio and enjoy some of the videos created by the team from Dundee Design Festival. You can also visit Dundee Design Festival’s online Dundee Design House from home. The showcase runs at V&A Dundee until 18 January 2022.

Dundee Design Festival 2021 was delivered by UNESCO City of Design Dundee and produced by Agency of None, a design studio in Dundee run by Lyall Bruce and Ryan McLeod

Explore-Imagine-Develop-Solve

Take a look at the design process used in our Learning programmes at V&A Dundee on the wall graphic within the Thomson Learning Centre.

Joanna Mawdsley, Head of Learning at V&A Dundee, said: “At V&A Dundee we love exploring ideas and are always curious to find out how we can use design and a design process to solve everyday challenges. Whether you’re aged 1 or 101, there’s always something for you to discover!

“We’re also really pleased to share some of our wonderful community projects with you, as well as showcasing some of the brilliant resources from this year’s Dundee Design Festival in our Thomson Learning Centre.”

Yinka Ilori Playscape

Listening to Joy is a colourful, interactive playscape designed by Yinka Ilori for families of all ages to enjoy in the lower hall of the museum. This vibrant installation uses pattern, music and colour to shape and inspire joy and delight for kids young and old.

The installation is open from 17 December 2021 – 24 April 2022.

Tatha Christmas and Hogmanay Menu

With the museum open Hogmanay and New Year’s Day, Tatha is offering a warming festive menu, which is available throughout the holiday period.

Festive Retail

Shop our festive range curated by Local Heroes both online and in the museum to pick up design gifts that support Scottish design. The range features covetable jewellery, clothing, homeware and chocolate for the foodies in your life. https://shop.vandadundee.org/collections/local-heroes-edit

Dundee WinterFest

Make a day of it and explore Dundee WinterFest out on Slessor Gardens. The festival hosts an ice rink, Ferris wheel, helter skelter, kids’ train rides and bungee trampolines for family fun. The village offers seasonal shopping with crafts, food and drink served from traditional wooden hut stalls with a Bavarian Bar.

Warm up afterwards with delicious doughnuts and hot drinks from Heather Street Food, open daily 10.00 – 18.00 on V&A Dundee’s plaza.