Major new pop up art centre for Paisley is created

A major new multi-arts space for Paisley will be created in the former Allders Department Store site on Causeyside Street!

Article Source: Outspoken Arts Scotland
Last Updated: 2 March 2022 18:39

THE ART DEPARTMENT will take over all four floors and be a pop-up art space for a variety of visual arts including painting; drawing; film and video; sculpture; ceramics; performance art; live art and crafts.

From Spring 2022, THE ART DEPARTMENT will run a full programme of exhibitions, events and creative learning activities and discussions are underway with partners: Future Paisley; OneRen; PACE Theatre Company; Paisley Artists; ReMode; University of West of Scotland and The Paisley Centre, amongst others.

THE ART DEPARTMENT will also host a major exhibition - THE BIG ART SHOW - the biggest art show in the town’s history. THE BIG ART SHOW will run from 26th August – 26th November 2022 and feature artists from across the country.

Submissions are open from now till 31st May 2022: outspokenarts.org/bigartshow

THE ART DEPARTMENT is the brainchild of Steven Thomson, Creative Director, Outspoken Arts Scotland (OAS), a long-standing Paisley-based arts organisation which is focussed on young people; those with protected characteristics and vulnerable groups. Thomson was a cultural producer within Paisley’s UK City of Culture 2021 bid team, led by Jean Cameron, which resulted in Paisley being the only town to be shortlisted for the title. The project has been developed by OAS in partnership with a voluntary group of twenty or so visual artists working across Scotland. The project comes on the back of a year-long programme of fully booked creative learning workshops, the running of gallery space Artspace37 and highly successful recorded drama production THE PAISLEY SUITE.

The store at Allders has been left in immaculate condition and lends itself almost instantly to major exhibitions. There will be a space for Creative Learning and other performing and visual arts activities. There is an opportunity for emerging artists in new practices to make exciting use of a large, dynamic space within the exhibition site. There will also be an onsite pop-up art shop. With the absence of art space in the town due to major development work taking place, organisers are already in discussions with a view to attracting major exhibitions into the space in 2022 and 2023.

Commenting on the project, Steven Thomson, Creative Director, Outspoken Arts Scotland, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the team at the Paisley Centre on the opening of THE ART DEPARTMENT. It represents a significant development in Paisley’s cultural landscape. It addresses the many aspirations of our young people who expressed the need for good town centre facilities through the ambitions of the Paisley 2021 bid and beyond. This is a critical time in many people’s lives where they need social and cultural space to re-engage with each other. This is vital given two years of covid lockdown and isolation, and we hope that the new space will add to people’s positive mental health and wellbeing, as well as add to the exciting new developments across the town centre. It is truly wonderful to be working in partnership with positive organisations who want to support the development of a vibrant social and cultural scene. We firmly believe art is for everyone, regardless of your ability or where you come from, and we do hope you will visit THE ART DEPARTMENT.”

Richard Ford, Partner at Reith Lambert, said: “We are delighted to support and promote Outspoken Arts in this exciting and worthwhile venture for Paisley. The ambitious plans Steven and the team have for innovative use of the space are really exciting and we look forward to seeing these come to fruition over the coming weeks and months. Replacing a flagship department store is difficult in the current retail climate but Outspoken Arts ambitious plans for the space show that there is still significant interest in investing in Paisley town centre.

“Our client, Beyond Retail, is currently progressing their exciting new multi-use Masterplan for the Paisley Centre which will help realise the spirit of the Vision for Paisley Town Centre 2030. This will include new residential development, retail, a brand-new hotel together with the potential for a state-of-the-art health and community hub, which has been a long-held ambition for the town.”

Lisa Charlwood Green, Chair, Outspoken Arts Scotland said: “This fantastic new arts space cements Paisley as a firm contender in the Scottish arts scene. I’m so excited that this former retail space will be the new hub for art and mental health to blend together as a positive outcome from the pandemic.”

Rikki Payne, Arts Manager, OneRen, commented: “The creative opportunities of such a large and prominent space are endless. Creativity and the arts have a huge role to play in the regeneration of Paisley. It’s great to have a space where artists and arts organisations can meet together and collaborate. OneRen look forward to the projects and events emerging from this unique space.”

OPENING EVENTS:
28th March - 21st April – JOE MCFADDEN ART (Window Display)
12th-17th April – LUMIA EXHIBITION – Trent Kim, University of West of Scotland (UWS) (Level 2)
21st April - 31st May – ART DEPARTMENT WORKSHOPS – twice weekly free art classes (Level 1)

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