The Woven in Renfrewshire film features interviews with the artists, carers and partners involved in the project
Woven in Renfrewshire Online Exhibition
Woven in Renfrewshire is a creative project which commissioned artists to develop new works on the broad themes of care, focused around careworkers’ experiences during and post-pandemic.
The projects highlights lived experiences in Scotland within the context of the debate around a National Care Service.
In Autumn 2023, Fablevision appointed four socially-engaged artists to work on this collaborative project. Lead Artist t s Beall was joined by Karen Herbison, Kayleigh Sarah McGuinness and Audrey O’Brien – each with distinct creative practices, including sculpture, performance, writing, and even collaborative embroidery.
The artists interviewed, collaborated with, and responded to the lived experiences of paid and unpaid careworkers over nine months in 2023-24. They created temporary interventions in Renfrewshire’s public realm, hosted afternoon tea parties and workshops with community groups like Kairos and the Love Street DRS, and installed temporary exhibitions in the Scottish Parliament, the Paisley Shopping Centre, Sma Shot Cottages and Royal Alexandra Hospital.
Flyer for Woven in Renfrewshire advertising the touring exhibition – May-June 2024
t s Beall, “The Writing on the Wall”, documentation of interactive performance at Royal Alexandra Hopsital, Paisley
The artists’ from their creative research was presented at an event in the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley on 15 May 2024. The event featured creative interventions and spoken word performances from carers – and invited participants in the project, NHS staff, and members of the public to experience an interactive display of artists’ work. The event launched the RAH Atrium as a new exhibition space for Renfrewshire, and the live event was documented for inclusion in the touring exhibition and online.
In June 2024 the artworks were displayed in the Scottish Parliament to share project findings with MSPs, contributing to the debate around an emerging National Care Service. The touring exhibition schedule included a return to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley Shopping Centre, and Sma Shot Cottages.
For more Woven in Renfrewshire, including audioworks and performances by careworkers, have a look at the commissioned artist’s pages: t s Beall, Karen Herbison, Kayleigh Sarah McGuinness and Audrey O’Brien.