Industrial Epic

From AmberSide, Newcastle upon Tyne
At Refractive at the Liberal Club, 32 High Street, Paisley, PA12BZ

15th September – 7th November 2026
Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm.
Admission Free

Industrial Epic is a photographic exhibition that celebrates the monumental and enduring resilience of industrial communities.

Drawing on the Iconic AmberSide Collection from Newcastle Upon Tyne, Industrial Epic invite audiences to reflect on their connections to place, identity and history. The Exhibition centres on universal themes, pride, loss and resilience with dramatic cinematic compositions of the North East of England providing a lens through which visitors can explore these ideas.

In Paisley the imagery resonates deeply, evoking memories of the town’s industrial heyday while inspiring reflection on its current regeneration.

This project not only celebrates industrial heritage but also inspires hope for the future, demonstrating how legacies from working class and often marginalised perspectives can be preserved and shared for the future.

Featuring film and photography by: Amber Film & Photography Collective, Mik Crichlow, Darlington Media Group, Dorman Long Collection, Peter Fryer, Isabela Jedrzejczyk, Srikka-Liisa Konttinen, Ian Macdonald, Harry Morrison, Bruce Rae, Dave Thomas, Vickers-Armstrong Collection, and Laurie Wheatley.

This exhibition is supported by:

• Creative Scotland
• Renfrewshire Council
• SIDE
• Arts Council England
• Community Foundation North East
• Paul Hamlyn Foundation
• Newcastle City Council
• Green Arts Initiative

Access Information:

Entrance to the Exhibition space, is via stairs at 32 High Street.  Disabled Access is on one level and available from the back entrance to the Liberal Club at 27 School Wynd, Paisley. Note: this is a cobbled street and parking is not available at the entrance at  27 School Wynd. Parking is available  by the church at 13 School Wynd and is free after 6pm.

Refractive at The Liberal Club

Our  new exhibition space is at the Oakshaw Suite in the Liberal Club at 32 Paisley High Street, PA12BZ.

The Refractive Collective of film and digital artists have spent the last 18months creating  this working artists exhibition space in central Paisley. Our exhibitions are free to the  communities of Renfrewshire and beyond, we are providing an accessible space where everyone is welcome to enjoy the space and the unique digital exhibition programme.

The exhibitions you will see  are diverse in nature, some from regional makers others from national and international partner artists and organisations, everything is designed to inspire and interest artists and audiences.

Behind the scenes from our production room artists  are working to create new films and exhibitions from our region for audiences to enjoy.

In the evenings you will see the rooms lit up,  we run artists workshops and meet ups to support a wide network of digital makers or all ages and career stages.

In addition Refractive will regularly present independent film screenings of award winning, documentary, drama,  short film and animation from local, national and international film makers. Catch the film listings on our cinema pages.