Your chance to shape the future of Paisley Museum at sessions

Creative conversations planned on hub’s transformation

Residents from across Renfrewshire are being asked to have their say in shaping the future of Paisley Museum.

A series of“creative conversations” are being planned this summer to develop ways in which the 150-year-old venue and its team will best serve the region’s communities following its £ 42 million transformation.

They will involve representatives from many of the near 70 local organisations which took part in earlier engagement events with Renfrewshire Leisure, which runs the museum, to examine the issues they face in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kirsty Devine, project director of Paisley Museum Re-Imagined, explained: “The transformed museum will not just be about celebrating our globally-important past, but being inspired by it to forge a stronger future.

“That’s a future that will undoubtedly be framed by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and the impact it has had on local lives.

“We want to make sure that our work meets the community’s priorities – addressing the challenges we face and creating new opportunities for our residents while supporting the region’s health, social, cultural and economic recovery.

“To create a programme which achieves that, we want to best understand the needs of our communities.”

The previous round of listening sessions emerged with six priorities: community health and wellbeing; tackling social isolation; employability and skills; local history and heritage; confidence/ belonging/feeling of ownership and play, literacy and creativity.

One of the groups which took part was Jambo! Radio, which is based in Renfrewshire.

It is the only radio station for the people of African and Caribbean heritage in Scotland and broadcasts programmes in multiple languages commonly spoken by people of African and Caribbean heritage in Scotland.

As part of the initial listening exercise, the museum team interviewed station founder George Tah who then invited Paisley Museum to partner in a funding bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Our Heritage will support four heritage trainees over 18 months who will visit Paisley: The Secret Collection museum store on the High Street, the Heritage Centre at Abbey Mill Business Centre, Seedhill and will find out more about the plans for Paisley Museum.

From this, they will produce a series of heritage-themed radio programmes for African and Caribbean communities and Jambo! Radio listeners.

Kirsty added: “The engagement we have had has already led to some of those we have spoken to launching activities which are benefitting people now, and which will develop as the museum’s transformation continues.

“It’s rooted deeply in the fabric of the museum to have the community’s involvement.

“In the late 19th century the founding committee recognised the importance of community involvement, commenting that the museum ‘only needed to be put in the possession of the community to be appreciated and that the advantages would be of service to all’.

“That ’ s an ethos we are embracing as we look to the future.”

As well as its work with community organisations, the museum team is also working with colleagues in Renfrewshire Leisure’s libraries, sports and leisure teams, as well as across Renfrewshire Council and The Great Place Scheme.

For more details, go to https:// reimagined.paisleymuseum.org.

We want to make sure that our work meets the community’s priorities