ACCORD Hospice Art Exhibition to open on 1st May

This year's ACCORD Hospice Annual Art Exhibition will be opened by Lord Provost of Paisley, Councillor Lorraine Cameron, on Thursday 1st May at 4pm.

Article Source: ACCORD Hospice
Last Updated: 23 April 2025 15:18

The exhibition will run from Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 4pm until Friday 30th May. It will take place on the first floor of the former Allders Department Store in The Paisley Centre, 10/2 Causeyside St, PA1. Entry is free.

Artists were invited to donate artworks with 100% of purchases benefitting the fundraising campaign to raise valuable funds for ACCORD in aid of care in the community. There will be around 500 works in the exhibition. Submissions to this year’s show have a mindful and meaningful thread running through them. They are full of movement. Several works touch on relationships, unison, strength and love, along with darker moments like stress, fear and anxiety. Amongst the submissions are still life, nature, cityscapes, beautiful landscapes and stunning sunsets. There are moments of mindfulness; Spring awakenings; journeys; portraits and a good selection of flora and fauna.

New to this year’s show is the featured artists programme featuring work by five established artists Lil Brookes, Lilias Conroy, Ipshita D W Meyer, Jim McDade and Marion Gardyne, fresh from her recent exhibition at Arlington Baths on Glasgow’s South Side.

The artists will each show 12 artworks, and Jim McDade will also show a rediscovered film on Paisley, made in 1982 with David Munro, which won first prize in the Paisley 500 Video Competition in 1988. Shot on Ferguson VHS video camera, the film has an original composed soundtrack by Jim and David akin to a mash up of Kraftwerk and John Carpenter, with wonderful views of Paisley architecture, old and new.

The film is a counter clash between brutalist, modern architecture and Paisley’s heritage - giving views of everyday life which will bring back memories of days gone by. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric heart-warming view of Paisley in the 1980s. It celebrates buildings past and present with loving treasures - the Mills, the Half-Time School, Coats Memorial, The Abbey, The River Cart, Paisley Prison, and many other much-loved places in the town.

This year’s five featured artists are as follows:

Lil Brookes is a visual artist and social historian with a community practice. Lil was born and brought up in Renfrewshire and is currently living in Paisley. She began her freelance small business called “Gatekeeper Art” in 2016. Lil’s artwork is inspired by many things but her “signature” style is inspired by the rich heritage of Scotland with a special interest in the vibrant colours, designs and textures of the West of Scotland’s 18th and 19th century textile industries. Lil also loves to incorporate local history stories into her paintings to invite the viewer to read or come to their own conclusions about the narrative content.

Lilias Conroy is based in Barrhead and creates silk paintings featuring landmark buildings, many of which are in Renfrewshire. Her work is atmospheric and is influenced by Scottish heritage and her love of architecture. As a member of the Embroiders Guild, Lilias is mainly self-taught in the art of silk painting. She was totally enthralled by the luxuriousness of the smooth silk fabric and the brilliance of the colours.

Ipshita D W Meyer - born and raised in Kolkata in the state of West Bengal, Indian fine artist Ipshita D.W. Meyer, always had a knack for art that began at the tender of age of three. Ipshita completed an MSc in Sociology with the ‘International Country Specific Scholarship – India’ that was awarded by the University of Glasgow (2011 – 2012). She was a finalist for the John Hurt Art Prize at the Holt Art Festival (2020, 2021 and 2022). Ipshita was a finalist for the Prisma Art Prize – Italy (2020 and 2021) and was also long-listed for the Visual Art Open Awards (2022). Ipshita was also awarded the ‘Certificate of Achievement’ by the Pinacothèque Luxembourg Art Museum (2020 and 2023). She was also the finalist for the Big Art Show – Paisley (2023 and 2024) where she was also awarded the ‘One Ren Health and Wellbeing Award’ (2023).

Jim McDade studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Cardonald College (1977-79). In certain pieces he works on he can see his graphic skills coming through alongside his more painterly ones. Jim then went on to do a BA (Hons) in Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art from 1988-92. He then did a Postgraduate in Education at Moray House in Edinburgh which led to him to teaching Art and Design in various secondary and special schools for over 20 years.
During that time, Jim also trained as a therapist (initially in hypnotherapy) and life coaching and worked in these areas while still teaching part-time and taught mindfulness courses at Clyde College. He sees his art as being about the mind, emotions, memories and other aspects of the "inner world" of our experiences. He believes all his paintings are deeply personal and do mean something, although it is very subjective, sometimes intangible and ultimately unconscious. He always hopes that they communicate something to anyone who sees them. That is one of the things he enjoys about creating work and having it seen - he hopes it evokes a response of some kind in each viewer. Jim has shown work for the past three years in Big Art Show and took part in ACCORD’s Annual Art Exhibition in 2023.

Marion Gardyne holds a BA in Textile Design from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and a Postgraduate in Primary Education from Strathclyde University. Marion is a member of Glasgow Society of Women Artists and Glasgow Southern Art Club. She is a mixed media artist working with paints, pens, threads and fabric to create a range of colourful, detailed artwork on canvas. Marion regularly presents art activities to children and adults for The Art Department, Paisley, where she supports and encourages creativity, sharing a variety of techniques and materials. Marion will be exhibiting a selection of new work which she has been developing for several months. She finds creating her artwork therapeutic and cathartic. She becomes very focussed on what she is doing. This show is especially important for her as she recently lost both her mother and sister within weeks of each other.

Commenting on this year’s show, David McFadden, Fundraising and Communications Manager at ACCORD, said: “We are thrilled to present another art exhibition which is a long running and much-loved show featuring the work of local artists. The addition of the featured artists programme this year allows us to show work from established artists and we’re delighted to see the variety of this year’s submissions.”

Steven Thomson, Creative Director, The Art Department, Paisley Limited, who are managing this year’s show, said: “The Art Department is delighted to be hosting this year’s ACCORD annual art exhibition. The quality and variety of work in the show is fantastic and visitors will enjoy the featured artists part of the show. We’re proud to support ACCORD Hospice and look forward to welcoming everyone from 1st May.”

One of the artists who has submitted work is Steve Sharp from Erskine. Steve’s oil painting ‘Energy’ has been chosen as the poster image for this year’s show (see main image). Steve is a retired senior manager who has always had an interest in art. Since retiring, he has focused more on art and his development as an artist. He has experienced some small success in the painting of animal portraits and is currently continuing to work on his development as an artist.

Commenting on his artwork being chosen to promote the show, Steve Sharp said: “I’m delighted to have one of my artworks chosen as the image to promote this fantastic art show. Since retiring, I’ve been able to pursue my interest in art. I currently paint what I believe are mixed and interesting images. I think this is part of my journey as an artist, and part of the path in finding my artistic voice and artistic consistency. It is a great pleasure for me to share my art as part of that journey and my development as an artist.”

Steve’s image will appear on A2 posters to promote the show and on the ‘Love Local’ billboard campaign funded by Paisley First.

Steven Thomson, Creative Director, The Art Department, Paisley Ltd: “We were captivated by Steve’s image entitled ‘Energy’. We love the energy and colour of this image. It’s very dynamic and contemporary. It is all the colours of accord, and it is the perfect image to promote this wonderful show.”

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