If you’re in recovery, related to, or friends with someone who has lived experience with substance use, we’d love to invite you to get involved in our work.
Recoverist Learning & Engagement
We run a series of regular projects across the year, supporting and connecting recovery communities, consisting of themed artist-led workshops supporting work preparedness, wellbeing, steps to education, volunteer opportunities and social reintegration.
Most recently, African Objects: Psychoactives, Spirituality and Mental Health, an ongoing creative health project exploring the intersections between African heritage, recovery, spirituality, and mental health.
Delivered by Portraits of Recovery in partnership with Manchester Museum, the project brings together members of Black and African-Caribbean communities with lived experience of recovery from substance use and/or mental health challenges. This project will culminate in a creative response on display at Manchester Museum as part of Recoverist Month, September 2025.
Please sign up here to find out more about future opportunities.
RECOVERIST CULTURE FIX
Recoverist Culture Fix is our programme of regular, specially curated cultural events. Part of Portraits of Recovery’s commitment to increasing access and engagement with the arts for people and communities in recovery, Recoverist Culture Fix is also a chance to meet like-minded people, make friends and enjoy a rich cultural experience in Greater Manchester.
Our aim is to empower those in recovery by fostering their cultural participation, demystifying contemporary art, and amplifying the voices of an often-marginalised community. Through culture, we build ambition and empower a stigmatised community to drive systemic change.
If you’d like to join our events or find out more about our Recoverist Culture Fix events, please sign up for our emails here.
RECOVERIST UNION
The Recoverist Union is an advisory group to help inform the future development of Portraits of Recovery.
It sits parallel to our board of trustees, inviting those in recovery to have a direct say in the direction of the organisation’s public programme.
The members meet 4 times a year, on a volunteer basis, to share skills and knowledge. An ambition of the Recoverist Union is to create a volunteer scheme for Recoverists to be able to access opportunities within the arts and cultural sector, championing social change for recovery communities.
To find out more about the Recoverist Union please email dominic.pillai@portraitsofrecovery.org.uk