CHAORDIC is a Portraits of Recovery (PORe) multi-year initiative of three radical art commissions with Castlefield Gallery, Manchester and the Whitworth art galleries. The initiative is exploring how deepened access to, and participation in, high quality arts can help reframe addition and recovery identities. CHAORDIC encourages notions of cultural citizenship as an emancipatory path to visibility and identity status for Recoverism and the Recoverist Community.

Recoverism is a pioneering North West England art and social movement that looks at recovering people and their communities as social assets with newly collective, responsible ways of living, free from substance or self-harming and defeating behaviours.

Manchester Art Gallery Senior Curator Fiona Corridan, Castlefield Gallery Director & Artistic Director Helen Wewiora and the Whitworth Project Producer Dominic Bilton came together to talk to Performing Recovery’s leon clowes about their perspectives as art galleries on working with PORe. Via CHAORDIC, people in addiction recovery are co-creating an arts project on chemsex with Harold Offeh at Manchester Art Gallery, will be working with an artist-in-residence with Castlefield Gallery, and forming a Recoverist Curators’ collective to stage an exhibition at the Whitworth.

Here follows an edited version of the transcript of the roundtable conversation which took place on Zoom on July:

leon clowes: What have you learned from working with Portraits of Recovery’s communities?

Fiona Corridan: We’ve been collaborating with Mark Prest from Portraits of Recovery, artist Harold Offeh, and a dedicated group for some time now. Our journey began with a launch at an event and panel discussion at Pride last year, which was followed by a series of workshops at Manchester Art Gallery. The workshops are specifically focussed on a project called Let’s Talk About Chemsex. This initiative aims to support people in recovery from different experiences with Chemsex in a non-judgmental manner. The overall aim is to reduce stigma, and foster open conversations, building on the existing work surrounding this issue.

The report Sex, Chems, HIV & Consent that George House Trust and We Are Survivors delivered with Cheddar Gorgeous (drag artist and University of Manchester anthropology postdoctoral researcher Dr Michael Atkins) was really valuable during our research phase. This has led us to work with people with lived experience in quite an open way and be led by their experiences and their interests.

From our perspective, the organisational value and learning has centred around gaining a greater understanding and confidence in working with people from the recovery community. Working with someone who has lived experience, like Mark from Portraits of Recovery, has been crucial. Mark has been open and non-judgmental in answering questions about his experiences, which has been invaluable for us at the art gallery and for everyone involved in the workshops.

Harold Offeh and I do not have lived experience of chemsex, so we approached this project with fresh eyes. The openness and willingness of participants to share their traumas and issues have been unexpectedly profound. Even though we’re exploring a complex issue, the workshops have been enjoyable, creating a sense of connection and community through discussion, writing, music and visual art.

We’ve collaborated with Brighter Sounds, a music charity, to develop a soundtrack with Harold and the group. The project has encompassed writing, talking, making music, and creating playlists. The outcome will be a limited-edition EP, crafted by Harold, Brighter Sounds, and the group. Currently, we are finalising the soundtrack, including music, voices, and quotes. This weekend, Harold has a session with the group to work on visuals, the sleeve, and the sleeve notes.

The process has been confessional, open and joyful. Music and the arts have united the group, many of whom were new to the gallery and hadn’t previously considered art and creativity as therapeutic outlets. This project has been transformative, fostering a sense of community and family. Looking ahead, we are planning a listening party around Pride in late August, bringing everything full circle. In September, during Recoverist Week, we will launch the EP and discuss the project’s journey. This initiative has been incredibly beneficial for the organisation, and everyone involved.

Dominic Bilton: We’re just at the beginning of this journey, which has been generously supported by the Baring Foundation to help realise Recoverist Curators. We’ve recently done a call-out for people in addiction recovery to join our group, aiming to build on our previous work with participatory groups. Previously, we had a group come together for the Still Parents exhibition, which focused on baby loss, and last year’s Undefining Queer exhibition gave voice to the LGBTQIA+ communities. Our goal is to build on that constituent work and open up our collection to a plurality of voices, allowing it to be used by a wide variety of community groups. This particular project with the recoverist group will be using the collection to also explore the impact and value that art has in supporting the positive mental health and wellbeing aspects of those in recovery. 

Helen Wewiora: We’ve worked with Portraits of Recovery in the past – before my time – and there has been a great legacy from that work. There was an artist commission with Melanie Manchot, who collaborated with individuals from the recovery community. The show was here at Castlefield Gallery, and through this work Melanie developed a close relationship with Stephen Giddings, which led to the Liverpool Biennial film commission STEPHEN. It’s great to build on that legacy through this new programme.

What is different with this programme is the wider partnership we’ve formed, which I believe will enhance the process, outcomes, and impacts. I’m looking forward to getting to know the individuals Dominic is recruiting and making connections across the work our organisations will be doing together.

To date, we’ve been working closely with PoRE our recovery partner Tameside-based ANEW, who support individuals with lived experience of recovery and homelessness. The gallery has a long-standing commitment to supporting individuals, including artists and creatives, with different forms of lived experience, particularly displacement and homelessness. This commitment existed long before I joined, and I’ve been here for seven and a half years.

The Covid pandemic was a significant disruptor to this work. However, it’s been gratifying to reconnect and work with a group of people with diverse lived experiences. We’re currently in the stage of getting to know one another. We are working with ANEW staff, all having progressed through the organisation’s programmes and thus with lived experience. Working together in this way, as opposed to bringing a disparate group together, is a new approach and one that I hope will realise something really rich and impactful..

This approach positions us well for creating a lasting legacy and ongoing work. We’ve been focusing on confidence-building sessions regarding contemporary art, visiting art exhibitions together, discussing, and writing about our shared experiences. We’re now moving towards co-designing our future activities and entering the fundraising and development phase towards co-appointment of an artist in residence who will spend time at ANEW with the group, to develop new work for an exhibition at Castlefield Gallery in 2025.

leon: This reminds me of my recent interview with Melanie Manchot  about her film STEPHEN. She mentioned how necessary the slow process was. Regarding the community of addition recovery artists, what do you think is the value they bring to contemporary arts and arts practice, particularly for people like me in addiction recovery? Are there specific contributions we make to contemporary arts practice?

Dominic: I think it revolves around narrative, language, and confidence. It’s about confidently discussing recovery and addiction in an ethical and caring manner, coming from a place of lived experience. It’s crucial that the institution isn’t the one describing artworks related to addiction or recovery, but rather, it’s the people with lived experience who provide that language.

Mark is keen to develop a Recoverist glossary of language, similar to what we did for the Undefining Queer exhibition. Historically, institutions have imposed values and ethics, but contemporary and even historical art should reflect the voices of marginalised communities. Our collection spans thousands of years, and it’s important to recognize that issues of addiction and recovery are timeless. This connection through history helps us realise that others have gone through similar experiences.

The development of this language by the Recoverist community is vital. It allows us to confidently describe artworks and create new pieces that express our experiences. This is a significant benefit of working with this constituent group—they describe their experiences and attach language to contemporary art, not the institution. This approach ensures that the gallery and its practitioners use the appropriate language confidently.

Fiona: Many artists are now working in ways that move beyond creating marketable pieces. Contemporary art has shifted towards being more present and open-ended. Projects often have outcomes, but these are led by people with lived experience. As curators, we take a backseat and see how things develop. This was evident in our training with Portraits of Recovery in April, where we examined our judgments and reactions. The process itself is the work.

For the Let’s Talk About Chemsex project, the participants wanted a tangible outcome. Although the process was crucial, they desired something to mark the experience. As a result, there will be an artwork, and each participant will have had their own input. It’s important for us to ensure our work and collections are relevant and to collaborate with artists like Harold and organisations like Portraits of Recovery. Their knowledge and experience give us the confidence to engage with contemporary art in new ways and see things through different lenses.

Helen: In terms of longer-term organisational ambitions, our focus is on embedding this work. We have broader commitments to people with particular lived experiences, recognizing the importance of intersectionality, whether that be where recovery and trauma informed by displacement, war and conflict might intersect, or recovery, mental health and neurodiversity for example. It’s amazing to learn from people and their stories. Our aim is to continue building on this foundation, ensuring these broader agendas are embedded within our thinking about our activities.

Fiona: I echo that. It’s about understanding and acknowledging how anyone can be affected by addiction and the various reasons behind it. At Manchester Art Gallery, we aim to become a trauma-informed organisation. This means creating a place of safety and cultural consideration, building trust, and encouraging empowerment. The process is slow, but Covid has highlighted the need for a more caring approach. We’ve all been touched by the lived experiences shared with us, and it’s essential to carry on this work and not see it as a one-time project. We need to keep building trust and remain part of the situation, not separate from it.

Dominic: I agree with Helen and Fiona. It’s about embedding community groups that often feel marginalised. Care is central to my work, ensuring that people who aren’t represented on the walls of our gallery feel included. Our constituent work, particularly with trauma-informed groups like Still Parents and Undefining Queer, continues beyond initial exhibitions. These groups remain integral to the gallery and inform our practices. The Recoverist Curators group will be the same, becoming embedded in what we do long-term.

Find out more about The Whitworth’s Recoverist Curators’ group here: https://portraitsofrecovery.org.uk/project/recoverist-curators

More Details here on Let’s Talk About Chemsex with Harold Offeh: https://manchesterartgallery.org/event/lets-talk-about-chemsex-2  

Here is Castlefield Gallery’s website: https://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/ 

This is Portraits of Recovery’s website: https://www.portraitsofrecovery.org.uk/