City Of Culture - Paisley?

Paisley is being considered for UK’s City of Culture in 2021.

10:37 26 February 2016

Paisley, a large urban area in Scotland, is bidding to become UK City of Culture in 2021. Used to be a wealthy place, the town features great reminders of its splendid past including a fine neoclassical town hall, a rustic medieval abbey church, an imposing war memorial and a one-of-a-kind museum.

 

In the 18th century, Paisley was known for its highly skilled weavers who created delicate patterns on silk gauzes and cotton. In 19th century, these weavers, who were hailed the most skilled in Europe, focused on making shawls with immensely intricate designs based on Kashmiri originals and the Paisley pattern was born. The town was also recognised for its highly skilled bee-keepers, gardeners, musicians and more than 230 poets.

 

David Wallace runs Pace, one of the largest youth drama groups in Britain, from a converted church just round the corner from the High Street. "I believe it's transformational," he says of the bidding process. "It gets pride back into the town, it attracts visitors into the town. It changes people's perceptions, and starts to change the perceptions of people who live here as well. They start to say: 'What do we have that allows us to become City of Culture?' Perhaps Paisley buddies have been slow to stand up and be proud of what they have."