Kim Kaur and Aunee Bhogaita , IZZAT
Mandla
‘ Portraits of Recovery ’ s work ... is about increasing access and opportunity to the transformational power of the arts and culture .’
were asked if they had heard of sober curiosity and how it impacted on their lives . The clips garnered thousands of views and generated positive online conversations around actively choosing not to drink or to lessen alcohol consumption .
Ed Edwards ’ award-winning play The Political History of Smack and Crack , which chronicles the Thatcher-era heroin epidemic , was safe in the hands of Eve Steele and William Fox . The actors , who have been performing together as lovers and heroin users Mandy and
Neil since 2020 , gave a rehearsed reading at Oldham Library ’ s performance space .
Will Belshah is a neuro divergent queer artist , working predominantly in painting . Spaces Between kicked off a 12-month project , in collaboration with Portraits of Recovery , Venture Arts and HOME arts centre , on the intersectionality between neurodiversity , substance use and artistic practice , with the audience invited to take part in a shared creative response . Specialist speakers included Amanda Sutton , director of Venture Arts , Lisa Williams , lecturer in criminology , University of Manchester , Michele Hacking , NHS clinical psychologist and Dominic Pillai , curator of social engagement at Portraits of Recovery .
Also at HOME , we screened Fallen Angels ’ Transfiguration , a trio of short dance films . I Fall , I Need and We Rise focus on a series of defining moments in the journey from active addiction to recovery . Paul Bayes Kitcher , co-founder / artistic director of Fallen Angels took part in a post-screening Q & A alongside director Dan Thorburn and playwright / actor Eve Steele , compered by Leon Clowes .
MANCHESTER MUSEUM IZZAT : South Asian Women and Substance Use was a panel discussion exploring the unique barriers South Asian women face in accessing support for substance use . Speaking at Manchester Museum were Dr Sarah Fox from the substance use and associated behaviours research group ( SUAB ) at Manchester Metropolitan University , recovery advocate Aunee Bhogaita AKA Brown Girl in a Bottle , who has lived experience of sexual violence and substance use and Kim Kaur and Poonum Chauhan of SAFIR * ( South Asian Females in Recovery ). The discussion served as a launch pad for a creative project with South Asian women in recovery , which will take place throughout 2025 .
A second collaborative event with Manchester Museum saw Dr Njabulo Chipangura , curator of living cultures at Manchester Museum , offered the rare opportunity to engage with and handle cultural heritage objects used for spiritual or ancestor worship purposes . African Objects : Psychoactives and Spirituality saw several exhibits ordinarily confined to the museum basement brought above stairs to begin conversations on the use of psychoactives for enhanced notions of spirituality and for the treatment of substance use issues .
PORTRAITS Finally , a reflective event , Recoverist Curators : Cabinet of Curiosities showcased a back catalogue of Portraits
Collective Cuddles
Samadhi
of Recovery work since 2011 . Displayed at Whitworth Art Gallery , content was selected by the recoverist curators , a group of people in recovery from substance use . Delving into the Whitworth ’ s own collections , the group will , over the next few months , select and re-interpret artworks through a recoverist lens , helping to challenge societal stigma by rewriting the narrative . A resulting exhibition will open in spring 2025 .
Portraits of Recovery ’ s work , including Recoverist Month , is about increasing access and opportunity to the transformational power of the arts and culture . We only need to look at how the queer , disabled and neurodivergent , global majority and women ’ s movements have taken back control through their cultural production . We strongly advocate this approach for the recovery community .
Mark Prest is the founder and director of Portraits of Recovery . www . portraitsofrecovery . org . uk
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