Nice Day, Isn’t It?
An installation by Rebecca Dunn
Wonderland Festival 2022
‘Nice Day, Isn’t It?’ was an installation by Rebecca Dunn exhibited at Aberdeen Performing Arts’ Wonderland Festival in September 2022.
To make the installation, Rebecca composed and recorded a soundscape and oversaw the construction of a vertical garden called the Grow Dome which also acted as an enclosed listening ‘room’.
The soundscape (later released as an EP, also titled Nice Day, Isn’t It?) is comprised of 4 original compositions, which were inspired by led discussions at community gardens about the weather and how it relates to our experiences and hopes for the future. The workshops were held at St Fitticks Edible Garden, Earth & Worms, and the Peacock & The Worm community garden.
The Grow Dome - inspired by SPACE10’s open-source Growroom design - was fabricated in collaboration with Craig Barrowman, Gray’s School of Art.
Audience members enjoyed the soundscape played through speakers in a small seated area inside the Grow Dome - surrounded by plants growing vertically all around them.
Plants were donated or on loan from local growers Ellen and Dick Firmin, the Holburn Allotment Association, the Alcohol and Drugs Action gardening group, Duthie Park, and Aberdeen City Council. Leftover plants were donated to community gardens after the installation.
This project was supported by Culture Aberdeen with funding from the UK Government Community Renewal Fund.
Legacy of the Grow Dome
The Grow Dome lives on as a community growing installation combining sustainable food growing, creative collaboration, and public engagement. Here is it's story…
2020: The Grow Dome was developed at CFINE in collaboration with Rebecca Dunn, inspired by SPACE10’s open-source Growroom design. Raw materials for the build were purchased thanks to financial assistance from the Community Climate Asset Fund.
2022: Rebecca was awarded a commission from Aberdeen Performing Arts and oversaw the construction of the Grow Dome as part of her installation called ‘Nice Day, Isn’t It?’. She also composed the accompanying soundscape, inspired by community workshops on weather and resilience. The structure was fabricated in collaboration with Gray’s School of Art.
2023–2024: The Grow Dome featured in the community, at Climate Week North East 2023 and at SNUG Community Garden and the Community Growing Takeover at Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Centre.
2025: Donated to the James Hutton Institute for permanent installation in the Hutton Hub, continuing as a living showcase of biophilic design and community innovation.
Visiting the Grow Dome
The Grow Dome is now permanently housed at the James Hutton Institute’s Hutton Hub. Informal visits to the Grow Dome are welcome anytime the Hutton Hub Café is open.
Community groups, schools, and other organisations can arrange educational visits in advance. See the CFINE website for more information on this.
Interview with Rebecca
Exploring what the Nice Day, Isn’t It? installation means and the significance of the location. Videography and graphics by La Lune Des Fraises.
Rebecca talks about her installation, Nice Day, Isn’t It?