Dundonians, as a whole, are not great about singing the city’s praises.
Everyone who lives and works here knows how brilliant the city can be, but it’s not something we like to talk about all that much.
For years, Dundonians have worn the fact that the city has often been the butt of other people’s jokes as a perverse source of pride.
“Sure,” we would tell ourselves, “they might look down on Dundee, but we know how brilliant it really is.”
Everyone can reel off a huge list of things that make it great – from the songs of Michael Marra to Clark’s 24-hour bakery – but it’s not always been readily apparent to those not familiar with the city.
But the cat is now well and truly out of the bag: Dundee is the most exciting place to be in Scotland right now.
Obviously, the V&A is the most prominent example of Dundee stirring from its decades-long slumber. Kengo Kuma’s building might, in its naked and unfinished form, looks like the Jawas’ sandcrawler from Star Wars, but it is easy to imagine how striking the finished building will look.
This week’s topping out ceremony was a reminder at just how far the building has come – and how close it is to completion.
But there is more going on in Dundee than just construction work on the Waterfront.
The three concerts planned for Slessor Gardens and the excitement surrounding the new festival, Carnival 56, are creating a genuine buzz around the city and are the types of event that will bring people from across the country to Dundee.
If that was not enough, the Dundee Design Festival will return for a second year, after the spectacular success of its inaugural event in 2016.
With all that going on, it’s easy to overlook two of Dundee’s older cultural touchstones, but both the DCA and the Rep are continuing to do brilliant things.
The new Mark Wallinger exhibition at the DCA and Death of a Salesman at The Rep are just the latest successes in a long history of triumphs.
Dundee is not without its problems, of course, and they will take more than the opening of the V&A to address.
But great things are happening in Dundee – and it’s time to celebrate that.
