Civic Reception for Jute Project Pupils

16th June 2009

The winners of a project which challenged school pupils around Dundee to use their creative skills to revive one of the city’s historic design traditions by making their own unique jute bale ‘marks’ will be revealed tonight at a civic reception.

Hundreds of pupils around the city took part in the Jute Bag Project, organised by Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design. Bags were donated by the Natural Bag Company and distributed to schools to allow the pupils to get to work on designing their bale marks.

The challenge has been laid by the College - part of the University of Dundee - to coincide with the Society of Scottish Artists’ Annual Exhibition, which this year was staged in the Vision Building in Dundee alongside Dundee Degree Show 2009.

Dundee is synonymous with the jute trade. Jute was transported back from India by ships in large bales, which were stamped with marks known as bale marks. The bale marks were used to identify the type and quality and the producer or seller of the raw jute.

Printed onto the side of the jute bales using a relief disc about the size of a side plate in width, the marks were generally quite simple and often geometric shapes or objects like stars or hearts.

The aim of the Jute Bag Project was for pupils to design their own personal bale mark which best identifies them and their personality.

The winners announced tonight will receive cash prizes and master classes at Duncan of Jordanstone College.

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