The Hidden Spaces in Paisley Project
This project was created as a way to engage with community members in Paisley, and discuss the themes of regeneration, participation and decay in the town. The basis for the project was the construction of a workshop under the banner of Hidden Spaces Paisley. The different steps I took in creating the workshop are illustrated below.
After the construction and completion of the workshop, I was left with a variety of photos and videos of decaying spaces in Paisley. This was material that was sent to me by workshop participants and other people living in Paisley wanting to participate, but also material that I created myself. You can find these photos and videos here​ and here.
​
Overall, the participation in the workshop was not as high as I would have hoped. And there could be many reasons why that was the case. It gave me great insight into the nature of participatory arts in Paisley, and the way that people engage with creative activities. To make sure I explored all avenues of engagement, I decided to create this website and see if people would feel they could more easily engage with online content. The database that is on this website is meant to be a participatory product. Hence, when people send in photos and videos of other decaying spaces, the database grows and evolves further.
​
If you have spaces that you would like to see added to the database, you can send an email to marzijl@xs4all.nl, or you can send pictures/thoughts/ideas to @hiddenspacespaisley on Instagram!
Organising the Workshops
01
Walking around Paisley
In order to get a sense of the look and feel of the decaying sites that were listed in the Vacant and Derelict Land Survey, I cycled and walked to each decaying space that was listed within the town border of Paisley. I timed how long it would take to visit each space from the city centre.
02
Snapping Pictures and Recording Spaces
At each space I visited I took photographs and videos to capture the feeling of the space. This included the colours, sounds, and the general state of the building or site. I also paid attention to current users of the space. For instance, some open spaces, while classified as vacant, were being used by dog owners to walk their dog
03
Creating Walking Route
From the spaces I identified in the survey, I applied a list of three criteria. Based on these criteria I included and excluded sites from the walking route activity. I added all viable sites to a google drive map and gave the sites numbers. In that way workshop participants could more easily discuss each site.
04
Setting up Workshop
I created questions for the workshop participants to answer while constructing their own walking route. They were asked to visit at least three different numbers, and answer the questions for each individual site. After the activity was completed, we planned in a discussion moment a week later to talk about what the participants had found.
A Continuous Feedback Loop
The gathering of material for this project works on an ongoing feedback loop.
​
This means that after the initial workshop, the collection of photos and videos continued to grow. Contributions came not only from the workshop itself, but also from other participants, local residents, and ongoing walking and cycling journeys around Paisley since the start of the PhD. These visual records reflect a shared curiosity and concern for the town’s decaying spaces.
​
Since the project began, the online archive has steadily expanded with new images and videos from across Paisley — and the aim is to keep growing it, even beyond the completion of this PhD!
​