Three new art commissions to explore links between art and substance recovery

A trio of new art commissions will explore how deepened access to and participation in high-quality arts can help re-frame addiction and recovery identities.

Working in partnership with Manchester Art Gallery, The Whitworth and Castlefield Gallery, Chaordic, a pioneering initiative led by Portraits of Recovery, is a dynamic social art movement that re-writes the narrative by supporting people and communities in recovery to reimagine the world they live in.

With Manchester as its incubator, Chaordic taps into the city’s rich history of social activism, examining Recoverism as a cultural ideology that can help support society to better look at itself as a whole and to shift how we think, work, live, feel and express ourselves.

Each project is directly informed by lived experience and aims to engage audiences, challenge stereotypes, and inspire the aspirational hope, desires and dreams of those in recovery.

Kicking off the series at Manchester Art Gallery this September, Let’s Talk About Chemsex explores the complexities of the lived experience of chemsex within Greater Manchester’s LGBT+ community. Through a series of arts-based workshops, led by artist Harold Offeh and supported by artist Jak Skot, Recoverists used writing, drawing and music production to identify key themes that promote understanding and empower individuals to reclaim deeply stigmatised narratives.

This has resulted in the creation of two tracks, Anticipation = Anxiety and A Warm Hug, that will be released as a 12-inch double A-side single on vinyl. The music production and recording, facilitated by Brighter Sound and producer Niall Connolly (a.k.a
Niallist), has been collectively produced with Recoverists, exploring experiences of sex on chems and broader themes of desire, intimacy, consent and respect in the LGBTQ+ community.

At The Whitworth, Recoverist Curators is a project that works with Recoverists as gallery curators, inviting them to delve into and redefine, the Whitworth’s extensive art collection. Working alongside a formally trained curator, Recoverist Curators will re-interpret selected artworks through a Recoverist lens whilst developing a ‘Glossary of Recoverist Language’ that enables the Recoverist community to describe themselves within the gallery’s collection.

Finally, Castlefield Gallery and PORe have been working with individuals from the ANEW recovery community in Tameside for the last 12 months. Staff from the three organisations have spent time visiting contemporary art spaces and museums, using these sessions to get to know and learn from each other. Together, they are working towards ANEW hosting an artist in residence in 2025.

The ambition for this groundbreaking collaboration is for a new body of work, co-created and developed for exhibition by the lead artist and the ANEW community.

Mark Prest, CEO & Director of Portraits of Recovery said “We are thrilled to unveil these three groundbreaking art commissions.  Chaordic’s mission is to redefine recovery through self-empowerment, art, activism, and collective endeavour. Our aim to inspire a more inclusive and compassionate society where every individual’s journey of recovery is positively supported and celebrated.”