Aspiring artists given chance to create public art in Paisley

Oct 3 2011 by Alison Rennie, Paisley Daily Express

ASPIRING artists are being give the chance to design a mural to brighten up the new food court at a Paisley shopping mall.

The Sunshine Gallery has teamed up with bosses at the InShops section of The Paisley Centre to give people the chance to create a piece of art on a large blank wall.

InShops is on the second floor of the mall and has recently opened a new food court, with the mural to be drawn on the wall next to the Chinese restaurant.

Jeanette McCaffrey, InShops manager, told the Paisley Daily Express: “Garry Byars, from the Sunshine Gallery, came up with the idea for the mural competition and I thought it would be a good thing to get people involved.

“I hope it will attract more people to come along to the centre. Nobody else has done anything like this before.”

All entries must be submitted to the Sunshine Gallery on an A4-size sheet of paper.

The competition is open to people of all ages and Garry and Jeanette will pick the winner after the closing date of Wednesday, November 30.

The only condition is that the mural has a Paisley theme and contains the word InShops.

Garry said: “I thought this would be a good idea to brighten up the food court and give local artists the chance to express their artistic skills in the town. Hopefully, it will bring more people into the InShops as well.

“There is a lot of talent out there and this is a good chance for them to get noticed.

“It’s all a bit of fun and will help to brighten up the food court. Hopefully, the mural will become a local attraction. We’re looking forward to seeing what designs people come up with.”

The winning artist will get the chance to paint the mural themselves. However, if a child wins the competition, Garry is happy to step in and recreate their design on the wall.

To enter the competition, just pop into the Sunshine Gallery, which is based at the InShops section of The Paisley Centre, with your design on an A4 sheet of paper. You should also state your name, age and contact details.

The winner must be willing to be featured in the Paisley Daily Express.