RIG Arts is behind Evolve Seedhill, a £200,000 18-month long project which aims to encourage the development of Seedhill as a resilient and vibrant place.

They organised a fun day in partnership with Williamsburgh Housing Association, Renfrewshire Leisure and Roar - Connections For Life at the McKerrell Street play park.

More than 200 people went along to celebrate the end of the school summer holidays and enjoy arts workshops, have their faces painted, have a shot on the bouncy castle, and find ways to connect with their local community.

Rebecca Livesey-Wright, project coordinator, said: “The day was a big moment for the Evolve project and a great opportunity for Roar to engage with local residents to discover what opportunities there might be for them to work in and with the local community to help further promote social connections and combat loneliness and social isolation.

“The event marked the lift-off of the EVOLVE project, an 18-month art project which aims to strengthen the Seedhill community and encourage the development of the area as a resilient and vibrant place despite the effects of the pandemic.

“It is also the first of many ‘Neighbourhood Days’ Roar hopes to deliver in partnership with other community organisations across Renfrewshire, with the ambition to make them a regular part of their work moving forward.”

Rebecca thanked the three artists Marie-Claire Lacey, Sharron McGregor and Jasmine Holt who came along as well as Ladyburn Diner who provided food on the day, Bookers who provided snacks, Darkwood Crew who provided cook-at-home food packs, the local fire service, the bouncy castle provider, Face Painting by Dawn and balloon artist, Paul Armour.

Bryan Dando, Evolve Project partner, from Williamsburgh Housing Association, added: “After the last 18 months, it was great to be back doing face to face community engagement and seeing so many smiling faces. It’s been a tough year for a lot of people in a lot of different ways, so it was excellent to be able to provide some fun and light relief.

“To be able to come together in a short space of time with a number of key partners such as Rig Arts and Roar was amazing, and this is only the start as we emerge back to a state of normality, as these two partners will be working in Seedhill for a number of months to come.”

Evolve Seedhill will include an artist-in-residency programme, creative workshops, events and the use of green and underused spaces. There are plans to hold another five community fun days throughout the project.

The £200,000 funding came from Creative Scotland’s Culture Collective fund.