Are you ever lost for words? Let our photograph cards do the hard work for you when you have a message to send. We have chosen the best of our images taken on a visit to the wonderful Paisley Abbey for our new 2026 selection of cards. Get in touch through the website or Instagram if you are interested: £2 per card or £10 for a set of 6. You can also visit us at the Wynd Centre on 7 February, where we have a stall at the Feelgood February Fair.
Is Paisley Photographic Society the oldest photographic society in Scotland? It was founded in 1857 and continues to operate today.
The town also established the Paisley Government School of Art and Design in 1846, and enthusiasm for the arts was so prevalent that it led to the establishment of the Paisley Art Institute in 1876.
At the University of the West of Scotland, you can also study photography at the HND level at various campuses, including our very own Paisley Campus. Students always host their end-of-year exhibitions at a local venue.
One famous photographer from the town is Alexander Gardner, and you will have seen at least one of his photographs, his portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Taken in February 1865, it was an album in silver print made by contact printing a glass negative on light-sensitive paper. The large glass negative broke after it was developed, and only one print was made before the negative was discarded. Gardiner was famous for taking many pictures of the American Civil War.
Abraham Lincoln by Gardiner.
Today, in Paisley, we are lucky to have many great photographers and artists who use the medium as a reference for creating their work.
The Art Department at Paisley, a large art space on Causeyside Street, encourages artists to explore their creativity and exhibit there.
Carole Gledhill from the Picturing Paisley group and her cyanotypes.
Picturing Paisley exhibition on hoardings outside the museum on Paisley High Street on September 26Picturing Paisley exhibition on hoardings outside the museum on the Paisley High Street on September 26.
Cotton thread manufacturing has made Paisley well-known. Anchor Mill is a finishing mill in Paisley on the White Cart River. It was designed in 1886 by architects Woodhouse & Morley. In 1980, a working mill featuring red brick exterior and arched windows was designated as a listed building. June 2003 saw the start of the conversion into 60 opulent apartments and commercial spaces. It was the perfect choice for our first set of photo cards because it is just one of the town’s many stunning architectural features. Each participant took a different angle of the building and selected their favourite view to create the card set, which we intend to release later this year. We have had a great time taking pictures of the building from various perspectives, and we will share a few of them with you right now for your enjoyment.
Did you know that we set ourselves a monthly theme and try to relate all our Instagram posts to it for the month? It gives us a challenge and helps us to focus our thoughts on producing photographs that positively reflect on Paisley. It provides fun for our regular followers to see what we come up with.
Our documentary-type photographs usually tell us a story, bring out some kind of emotional response or fix a time and place in history.
This month, we are asking, “What is Paisley to you?”. As humans, we all create fond memories of a time and a place that is as individual as we are.
Let us know what Paisley means to you. Here are some examples of the town’s heritage, people, and cultural scene.
