The Vision

Our vision is to reveal and celebrate the remarkable film and digital art sector in Renfrewshire and the surrounding areas and to enable local audiences of all ages to enjoy unique experiences of film, photography and artforms emanating from digital artistic exploration.

Our vision is to support film makers and artists do incredible things with film and digital technology and create a more level playing field for people of all ages to explore a career in the film, digital arts and related creative sectors.

The Paisley Film and Media Space in central Paisley will provide a unique base in Scotland to showcase and inspire both artists and audiences and celebrate innovation in the field of film and Digital art.

Image by Chris Duddy.

How We Started

In 2022 the Renfrewshire Place Partnership producer Muriel Ann Macleod (film maker and film programmer) wanted to find a way to reveal and celebrate the hidden film and digital makers living and working in Renfrewshire, some of them in self funded businesses, finding innovative ways of making film and digital art, others running successful film & digital making businesses. All seemed to be working below the radar of the general public. With this in mind she commissioned Chris Biddlecombe (an artist led spaces consultant) to undertake a consultation in the sector and 21makers and film/digital organisations took part in this.

Image by Muriel Ann Macleod. Sculpture by George Stadnik.

From this consultancy the idea to create a Paisley Film & Media space to champion innovation in independent film and digital arts emerged from the makers. They wanted to be valued and the significance of their work recognized. The Refractive core collective was formed with makers from different sectors have pushed the idea forward with the core aim of supporting and showcasing film and digital artists at all career stages in the Region.

Refractive and the Paisley Film & Media Space aims to support and promote a wide range of makers including Film makers (all skills and genre), Sound artists, Photographers, Lumia artists, Digital artists, Projection Mapping, 360 Immersion, Gaming designers, Producers, Screenwriters, Set Designers and related skills.