An exhibition curated by people in recovery from substance use, which re-narrates artworks from the Whitworth collection through a Recoverist Lens.

Driven by the lived experience of substance use and recovery, the Recoverist Curators project is an activist-based process, developing inclusive ways for working with people and communities in recovery. The Recoverist Curators: Reimagining the World We Live In exhibition has led to the development of new knowledge and increased cultural confidence for successful creative Recoverist engagement.

Recovery is often misunderstood. Recovery is not finite; it is a social process, a journey. It is cultural, contemporary and in the moment. Through the lens of recovery, the curators have researched and reinterpreted the Whitworth's collection. By curating this exhibition of artworks and engaging the public, the Recoverist Curators share their aspirational stories of hope, fear, desires and dreams.

"The idea of Recoverist Curators is a masterpiece of creativity, engaging people recovering from addiction to co-curate exhibitions which express their powerful experiences"

https://www.bmitpglobalnetwork.org/2025/08/12/manchester-a-city-of-stories-art-and-inspiration-shimaa-gomaa-egypt-itp-2025/ - Shimaa Gomaa, Deputy Director of Technical Affairs, Egypt's Capitals Museum

Recoverist Curators supports Portraits of Recovery and the Whitworth's collective mission for art as a means for positive social change, shifting balances of power to a more equitable approach. Recoverism is an inclusive ideology to support society to better look at itself as a whole and to shift how we think, work, live and express ourselves.

Portraits of Recovery is a Manchester-based visual arts charity supporting people who identify as being in recovery from substance use.

Supported by the Baring Foundation.

https://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/recoveristcurators/ - Find out more about the project and the Whitworth Gallery.