A DUTCH based company has been awarded the £1m contract to redesign the exhibitions for the Paisley Museum Reimagined project.

OPERA Amsterdam will create the interior displays housing the museum’s internationally renowned collections as part of a major refurbishment and extension.

The museum is the signature project of Paisley’s heritage led regeneration strategy and is part of an £100m investment by Renfrewshire Council to transform town centre venues and cultural infrastructure over the next four years.

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Award winning firm AL_A have already been appointed as architects for the ambitious £42m plans to transform it into an international-class destination. 

Work at the A-listed building is due to start in early winter this year, with an estimated completion date of late autumn 2022. 

OPERA’S co-director Jo Pike says that the firm, which has worked with prestigious venues across the globe, including Kensington Palace and the British Museum in London, is excited about the ‘radical’ brief.

She said: “There is so much here that really excited us, including the town’s rich history and heritage. The Museum Team have asked us to be bold, radical and ambitious in our approach to achieve something different.

“We are excited to work with the collection as it is very eclectic, from archaeology to textiles, to scientific instruments.”

More than double the number of objects previously displayed will go on show in 2022 with the opportunity to display parts of the collection never seen before.

The Gazette:

Lisa Marie Hughes (left) and Joyce McKellar at the closing of the Museum 

The museum has the largest known global collection of Paisley shawls and also has art works by the Glasgow Boys, Scottish Colourists, John Byrne and other key 20th century artists.

Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes, Chair of Renfrewshire Leisure, which operates the museum, said: "We are delighted to welcome on board an exhibition collection design team of such calibre as OPERA.

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"Renfrewshire's heritage and collections are globally significant and we want Paisley Museum to reflect the town’s bold and radical past as well as inspire future generations and be a valuable educational resource for our young people.

"It is the centrepiece of the work to transform the area's fortunes by harnessing our unique cultural heritage to make us a destination and help quadruple museum visitor numbers to 125,000 annually.”