What GENERATORprojects does

Generator Projects is a voluntary artist-run organization and registered Scottish charity (SC025493), founded in 1996 in Dundee. It is the oldest artist-run space in Dundee and the second-oldest in Scotland. Its core function is operating a physical gallery and community space at Mid Wynd Industrial Estate that delivers approximately six funded exhibitions annually, supplemented by an unfunded Takeovers programme (short member-run projects of one day to two weeks), an annual Members' Show, an annual They Had Four Years (TH4Y) graduate show, a digital sound exhibition called Radio GEN (SoundCloud-hosted), an editorial publications line (including Burned and Sewer Song in 2024), and a commissioned writing programme called call+response. All exhibitions and events are free to attend.

Governance was restructured in 2022–2023: a constitutional redraft separated operational programming from oversight, and a Board of Trustees was established in 2023 to assume legal and financial responsibility while the Operational Committee (maximum two-year voluntary terms) continues to run day-to-day operations. The organization is funded primarily by Creative Scotland (Multi-Year Funding recently secured) and Leisure and Culture Dundee, with secondary income from voluntary membership donations on a tiered income-based scale (Tier Zero to Tier Five, ranging from £0 to £36 annually). Artists on the funded programme are paid at Scottish Artist Union rates, and an Access Fund supports participation by practitioners facing barriers due to caring responsibilities or disability.

The organization is not a technology business; its competitive position rests on a 25+ year archive, a self-reproducing alumni network (past committee members have gone on to Venice Biennale, founded Common Guild, and won Glasgow Film Festival awards), and a membership model that gives members voting rights at AGM and the ability to apply for Takeover projects. Operational geography is concentrated in Dundee and Tayside, with explicit deprioritization of Scotland's central belt, and limited international programming reach through peer partnerships with The Royal Standard (Liverpool), M35 (Switzerland), and NEoN Digital Arts Festival.

Name

GENERATORprojects

Legal name

Generator Projects

Website

https://generatorprojects.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Generator Projects is a voluntary, registered Scottish charity operating a member-led contemporary art gallery and community space in Dundee, Scotland. Founded in 1996, it runs an annual funded exhibition programme, unfunded Takeovers, publications, and Radio GEN, serving emerging artists, graduates, and the local Dundee community through free admission.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dundee

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government/Funder Support: Primary funding from Creative Scotland and Leisure and Culture Dundee. Multi-Year Funding recently secured.
2. Membership Donations: Free membership with suggested annual donations based on income tiers (Tier Zero to Tier Five, ranging from £0 to £36 annually). Donations are voluntary and all members treated equally regardless of donation.
3. Donations: Registered charity accepting PayPal donations. Donate button available on website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Generator Projects is a voluntary artist-run organisation and registered Scottish charity (SC025493) based in Dundee. It operates a physical gallery and community space that delivers a funded programme of approximately six exhibitions per year, member-led Takeover projects, an annual Members' Show, a graduate exhibition (They Had Four Years), commissioned publications, a digital sound-based exhibition space (Radio GEN), and a free bookable Community Space.

Product overview

Generator Projects operates as a unified platform of interconnected arts programmes rather than a modular software product. The core offerings include a Funded Programme of approximately 6 annual exhibitions with paid artist opportunities, free membership providing access to Takeovers (member-run exhibitions), Community Space bookings, and voting rights. Supporting offerings include Radio GEN (digital sound exhibition space), Publications (printed works), the annual Members' Show, They Had Four Years (graduate exhibition), call+response (commissioned writing), and an Access Fund for supporting participation. All exhibitions and events are free to attend.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Funded Programme A programme of approximately six funded exhibitions per year operated through open calls and invitations, with artists paid at Scottish Artist Union rates. Targeted at early to mid-career artists, prioritising practitioners from Dundee, Tayside and outside the central belt.
• Takeovers Free use of Generator's galleries or Community Space for members to run their own short-term exhibitions or events, typically lasting one day to two weeks between main programmed exhibitions. Targeted at Generator members, with priority given to Dundee and Tayside artists.
• Community Space A free bookable space for Generator members to hold meetings, talks and events. Equipped with seating, tea and coffee-making facilities, microwave, and available speakers and projectors on request. Located at Mid Wynd Industrial Estate, Dundee.
• Membership Free membership open to all, providing access to the monthly newsletter, the ability to submit work to the annual Members' Show, applications for Takeover projects, and voting rights at the Annual General Meeting. Suggested annual donations are tiered by income.
• Radio GEN A digital exhibition space for sound-based artists, accessible 24 hours a day and hosted on SoundCloud. Features audio works from artists including Robert Thomas James Mills, James Stephen Wright, Siri Black, Finlay J Hall, and Peter Eason Daniels.
• They Had Four Years (TH4Y) An annual group show featuring newly commissioned work by five recent art graduates from Scottish art schools, providing a supportive platform for emerging artists to develop practice beyond the institutional setting. The 2026 edition features Anna Tewungwa, Jock Thomson, Nina Price, Sam Black and Thea Moston.
• Members' Show An annual exhibition showcasing work submitted by Generator's membership, providing members with the opportunity to exhibit and gain experience in running a show within a collective space.
• Publications Printed publications produced as part of Generator's programme, including 'Burned' (2024), 'Sewer Song' (2024), 'Flesh and Finitude' (2018) and 'Harmonielehre' (2009). Sold or distributed to support programme activities.
• call+response A commissioned writing programme in which Generator sets a theme, selects responses and commissions writers to publish on its website. Successful applicants receive a fee.
• Access Fund An access budget that lessens the burden for creative practitioners, performers and speakers who would otherwise face barriers to participation due to caring responsibilities or disability. Available to support participation in Generator's programme.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaboration with DJCAD and Bbeyond to celebrate work of Alastair MacLennan, commissioning artists to respond to archive.
• Bbeyond (Northern Ireland)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaboration with DJCAD and Generator for Beyond the Archive project commissioning performance artists.
• Wooosh Gallery (Dundee)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaboration for A Quest That's Just Begun exhibition showcasing Black artists, held outdoors at Wooosh Gallery's public car park space.
• The Royal Standard (Liverpool)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Artist exchange programme where Generator hosted members of The Royal Standard in 2019, and Generator committee exhibited at The Royal Standard in 2020. Celebrates importance of volunteer art organisations and emerging talent.
• NEoN Digital Arts FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Co-presented exhibitions Sensor and Genetic Automata with NEoN Festival in 2019. Included walking tours and supplementary events.
• M35 (Switzerland)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019International partnership with Lucerne-based arts organisation presenting Swiss artists in Dundee exhibition POST.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Transmission Gallery: Long-running artist-run gallery in Glasgow, one of Scotland's flagship ARIs. Comparable to Generator in scale, mission and volunteer governance, and the closest Scottish peer by activity type.
• Spike Island: Large artist-led centre in Bristol combining gallery, studio and research programmes. Comparable to Generator as an ARI serving emerging to mid-career artists with public exhibitions and a residency-style offering, though at significantly larger scale.
• Cubitt: Artist-led gallery and studios in London operating through a member-elected board and rotating artist-curators. Directly comparable governance and member-driven exhibition model to Generator Projects.
• Gasworks: London-based artist-run organisation with exhibition, residency and international exchange programmes. Shares Generator's commissioning-for-emerging-artists model, open-call structure, and EDI-led programming.
• Eastside Projects: Artist-run gallery in Birmingham with a membership programme, free exhibitions and a commissioning ethos. Closely comparable operating model and EDI/access commitments to Generator Projects.
• Bbeyond: Performance-art-focused artist-run organisation in Northern Ireland. An existing Generator Projects partner; comparable as a small grassroots ARI working in live/performance art with limited paid capacity.
• The Royal Standard: Volunteer-led artist-run gallery in Liverpool with a similar membership, open-call and unfunded Takeover-style model. Directly comparable to Generator Projects; the two organisations have an active artist exchange partnership dating to 2019.
• Market Gallery: Volunteer-run artist-led gallery in Glasgow with a member-curated exhibition programme. Comparable to Generator as a small Scottish ARI prioritising early-career practitioners through open calls and member-led shows.
• Outpost: Artist-run organisation in Norwich offering exhibitions, residencies and off-site projects. Comparable to Generator in being a regional ARI outside London supporting emerging practitioners through open calls.

Regional players

• Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA): Much larger institutional visual arts centre in Dundee, also funded by Leisure and Culture Dundee. Not a competitor — operates at a different scale — but the closest geographic peer and a shared funding relationship, relevant for understanding the local arts ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GENERATORprojects
• Instagraminstagram.com/generatorprojects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/generator-projects

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GENERATORprojects