CANVAS: Introducing Dundee's newest venue

Venue closures have become tragically common of late. From beloved music stages to popular pubs and restaurants, tough times have hit many businesses across the country, with Dundee in particular seeing many of its nightlife offerings disappear in recent years. This is just one of the reasons which makes its newest opening, CANVAS, so important.

Based in the red brick brewhouse of local craft beermakers 71 Brewing, the multi-purpose venue is already sparking excitement among Dundonians since opening earlier this summer. Split across an indoor event space and outside area, the versatility of CANVAS as a creative hub for gigs, club nights, food pop-ups and markets is hard to find elsewhere in Dundee. Its first few events – including an opening night show with Theo Bleak, Dundee Brew Fest 2025, DJ sets from former Reading Rooms stalwarts and pop-ups from Jim’s Delhi Club and Land O’ Spex – were resoundingly successful. But the team behind CANVAS are no fools: they know first-hand just how tough it is to operate local venues today. “In the midst of bringing CANVAS together, we’d already opened and closed a small bar and music venue,” explains Duncan Alexander, owner of CANVAS and 71 Brewing. “It’s been a bit of an arduous journey, but we’ve definitely learned a lot coming into this and we’re excited for what lies ahead.”

Ten years since its inception, the 71 Brewing team’s community-focused ethos flows through CANVAS, whilst also allowing space for the venue to have an identity of its own. “The vision for CANVAS has evolved as different people have come on board, including [Managing Director] Neil Mowat who has a wealth of experience from The Arches in Glasgow,” says Alexander. “But it’s not really about us – we want CANVAS to be the glue to showcase what’s happening in Dundee; a versatile facility for people to come in and do their own thing; a blank canvas, in essence.”

As such, there’s no shortage of potential for what CANVAS can offer. Operations and Events Manager, Paddy Devlin, mentions that catering to changes in people’s tastes has been key to curating their bookings. “I think since COVID-19, people in Dundee have been preferring to go out earlier for all-day events and finish up earlier at night, rather than partying into the late hours,” he says. “It gives us the opportunity to cater to various audiences by having different elements throughout the day such as food, pop-up stalls and music.”

Down the line, they’re open to exploring as much as possible. “We’re looking at having a skatepark, a wrestling ring for an event, you name it,” Devlin laughs. “It’s such a multi-purpose space that can be used in various ways. There’s a real underground scene here in Dundee without many stages to show it, so we’d like to help do that, as well as pull in promoters from other cities to book shows here. The responses so far have been fantastic, and we’re hoping the place can skyrocket in the coming months.”

Drinks-wise, you couldn't be better placed than in a brewery. As well as 71 Brewing’s own lagers, pale ales and sours, they’ve also sourced spirits from local distillers to give their drinks menu a distinct Tayside flavour. On top of that, beer tastings and experiences are available to book in its brewhouse downstairs.

The team have also been nifty in prioritising sustainability for CANVAS by designing their own eco-friendly heating/cooling system. “We received some funding from Scottish Enterprise to put towards our system, which works much like our beer pipes heating up and cooling down, effectively giving us 60 to 70 per cent of free heating and cooling,” says Alexander. “We’ve also worked with local designers Draff Studio to create our bar and other furniture out of spent malt, which has been amazing to see come to life.”

With the recent announcement of The SAY Award confirmed to take place in Dundee for the next three years, the city’s cultural reputation is becoming more tangible to others across Scotland. CANVAS will be sponsoring the event and have plans in place for spin-off events. For now, spirits are high, and CANVAS looks to be just what the city’s creative scene needs. “We feel like this is a different kind of venue for the city,” says Marketing Manager, Janet Anderson. “It’s not just for live music – people can discover new things, try something new instead of their normal haunts and enjoy themselves.”

“Our initial measure for success was how many event listings we could get in The Skinny each month!” Alexander enthuses. “We’re looking at doubling the capacity to 1,000 by making an extra upstairs level, as well as continuing to utilise our outdoor space as much as possible. There’s still plenty of room to progress.”

---

CANVAS, Ure Street, Dundee