Recoverist Curators

In partnership with Portraits of Recovery, Recoverist Curators is a project that will work with people in Manchester recovering from substance use. The Recoverist Curators group will use the art collection at the Whitworth to explore the aspirations, fears, desires and dreams experienced by Greater Manchester’s recovery community.

Over a six month period, we will invite individuals who identify as being in recovery to deliver sessions based on the gallery’s art collection. These sessions will facilitate conversations within a safe space towards the development of a Recoverist glossary which will form the basis for an exhibition at the Whitworth.

Our Recoverist glossary will re-interpret art from the Whitworth’s collection through the lens of recovery. It positions art as a tool for connecting with and learning from others, while supporting the journey of recovery and generating knowledge about the community’s lived experience.

Recoverist Curators is a participatory project that aims to better represent our recovery communities within the gallery, our collection and across wider society. This constituent-led project builds on the learning the gallery has developed from other constituent-based exhibitions including Still Parents and (Un)Defining Queer to deliver a programme premised on an equitable understanding of power-sharing, curation, empathy and learning.

Funded by the Baring Foundation