It’s possible that, for many of those gathered in Paisley Town Hall’s Jacquard Suite on Tuesday afternoon, Future Paisley has been a fixture in their lives for longer than they might care to admit.
Renfrewshire Council’s landmark cultural regeneration project has – in one form or another – spanned a decade. From its roots in Paisley, The Untold Story Cultural Strategy, by way of the UK City of Culture bid and via countless waypoints enroute, Future Paisley has focused on harnessing the power of place perception and image as significant elements of a regeneration approach rooted in culture and community.
Tuesday’s CCSE Symposium, Cultural Regeneration, Policy, Impact & Supporting the Sector, was an opportunity to reflect upon the successes (and difficulties) of delivering a bold and radical vision for change. Further, the event was a chance to discuss learning and attempt to identify pathways forward, across a landscape that has been – for the last years, in particular – challenging and unpredictable. It was also a celebration of the partnership between Renfrewshire Council and Future Paisley colleagues with the Centre for Culture, Sport & Events. This collaboration has produced a range of outputs contributing to the overall evaluation of the Future Paisley project. More broadly, it has led to opportunities to work together on externally-funded projects with foci of interest to both parties.
Introductory remarks from Renfrewshire Council’s Future Paisley lead, Louisa Mahon, recalled the long journey that community members and policy stakeholders in the region embarked upon, together. From first steps motivated by Paisley, The Untold Story, by way of the City of Culture bid and the Step Changes that framed the cultural voyage, towards the recently unveiled stops on the Buddie Walk of Fame, and much more besides. Louisa spoke of the vital importance of making and re-making space and place, allied with the huge value of creating and sustaining partnerships with local communities, business, third sector and other actors. Although the City of Culture accolade ultimately went to Coventry, the additional time and space that the ‘loss’ of the award opened up presented Paisley and Renfrewshire with the opportunity to test, innovate and err in their approach to culture-led transformation.
CCSE’s Professors Gayle McPherson and David McGillivray followed Louisa’s opening remarks. They observed that the partnership with Renfrewshire Council/ Future Paisley has provided CCSE colleagues with a platform to think deeply about the ways in which an institution such as a university might work alongside places and Local Authorities in beneficial ways. Establishing a partnership in this way has given scope for UWS researchers to identify common ground where each side can bring their most valuable assets and expertise to bear. In addition to collaborative bidding, CCSE colleagues and students have worked together with Future Paisley colleagues and stakeholders to produce a range of resources which contribute to the depth and breadth of the evaluation of Future Paisley’s success. And, recently, to establish a pathway programme; an opportunity to showcase the potential of the cultural sector to current high school students.
After a brief break for coffee and a very well-choreographed stage reset, we were delighted to be able to welcome a quartet of sector experts to further the discussion of Cultural Regeneration, Policy, Impact & Supporting the Sector. Chair, Andrew Dixon (Director, Culture Creativity Place Ltd), Frances Burns (Head of Strategic Planning & Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership), Dr Tamsin Cox (Head of Policy & Research, DHA Communications) and Professor Kate Oakley (Cultural Policy, University of Glasgow) took up the baton, interrogating the difficult necessity of balancing strategic policy rhetoric with the reality of delivery on the ground.
“How do we embed culture-led practice in the longer term, particularly in a challenging financial environment?”
“Why has this approach worked so well in Paisley and Renfrewshire?”
The suggestion that towns may in fact be more suited as platforms for such cultural interventions was particularly interesting. A smaller setting means that genuine partnership can flourish. Furthermore, the connection and people’s lived experience generated through this approach can function as a lasting legacy. Due perhaps in part to its compactness, Paisley has been well positioned to answer questions such as “where is the work we want to do?” “what skills and infrastructure do we need to do this?” and “what is the relationship between culture and place?” more directly and holistically than might be the case in a larger urban environment. This advantage of scale also means that, potentially, there are greater opportunities to focus on the achievement of social justice and wellbeing benefits generated by cultural interventions; reacting more flexibly to the changing circumstances and interests at the interface where ‘a plan’ meets with the local community it is intended to benefit.
“How do you measure a memory?”
There are, of course, challenges associated with demonstrating cause and effect. This is particularly so when the clearest evidence of any effect may only become truly apparent many years down the line. Going forward will have its challenges, not least the funding landscape to be negotiated. However, there are definite advantages to lifting the gaze to a longer time horizon, striving to preserve the fragile but precious advances in community agency that have been pivotal for Future Paisley’s delivery of regeneration alongside the cross-sectoral ways of working that have characterised the approach.
Very many thanks to our panellists and audience for a fascinating and frank discussion of the issues at hand!..
This blog was written by Sophie Mamattah, Research Associate at CCSE.
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