Overgate, Dundee to host V&A Dundee schools design challenge!

Final preparations are under way at Overgate in Dundee as part of the centre’s hosting of the School Design Challenge an exhibition of school pupils’ creativity, created by V&A Museum of Design Dundee, following a four-month project which worked with over 1,000 young people.

The exhibition is free and open to the public on the first floor of Overgate Shopping Centre, outside Debenhams, from Monday 14 to Sunday 27 March, 2016. The Schools Design Challenge asked S1 pupils from Angus and Dundee to creatively respond to the question, ‘How could you improve your school or school life?’

Pupils were asked to engage with how they can change their everyday environments supported by learning resources provided by V&A Dundee and the expertise of their teachers. Over 250 teams submitted creative responses to the challenge with a final ten teams then picked by an expert panel to develop their ideas with the support of professional designers. These ten teams will now have their ideas – and films documenting their inspiring progress – shown in Overgate, Dundee.

Speaking ahead of Monday’s launch, Malcolm Angus, Overgate Centre Manager said:

“Overgate is delighted to be providing a high traffic platform to host such a fantastic initiative which has seen every local authority school in Dundee and Angus participate in the pilot project. The exhibition promises to be unique, educational and exciting as the countdown to the opening of V&A Dundee approaches. We would encourage everyone to visit Overgate and view the exhibition, and the impressive creativity of pupils, first hand.”

Joanna Mawdsley, Learning Manager at V&A Dundee said:

“Design is everywhere and has such an impact on everyday life, yet it isn’t something that everyone is naturally aware of. We want to empower pupils to make change happen by using the design thinking process. Design thinking can be a powerful tool for problem-solving