Recoverist Curator: Curator Tour with Annie

Join Annie as she shares her unique perspective, shaped by lived experience, illuminates the exhibition with empathy and insight, framing curation itself as an act of understanding and reclamation.

Penny chose The Bay by Paul Nash, for its powerful, evocative landscape, explaining that “it represents the start of a journey through unpredictable, windy terrain that seems never-ending, reflecting the never-ending journey of recovery from addiction, where curveballs might trigger a relapse.”

The artist, Paul Nash (1889–1946), was among the most important British landscape artists of the twentieth century. A key figure in the development of Modernism, his surreal and often haunting works explore the enduring yet transformative power of the natural world – a fitting parallel to the recovery journey.

See the show through Penny’s eyes.

📅 26 February '26

⏰ 18:00pm - 19:00pm

📍the Whitworth

🎟️ Book your free tickets now

🌟Donations help us to present world-class events and exhibitions for free. Please consider making a donation with your ticket if you can.

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: Re-imagining the World We Live In exhibition has led to the development of new knowledge and increased cultural confidence for successful creative Recoverist engagement.

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

About the venue

The Whitworth is a venue with level access throughout, and facilities to support you during your visit. Alongside this our visitor team will be on hand to assist you in the gallery. Find out more about planning your visit to the Whitworth and accessibility information for you.

If you’d like to speak to a team member about any access or additional needs, please get in touch with the gallery and we will be happy to assist you. Email whitworth@manchester.ac.uk or telephone 0161 275 7450.

The Whitworth art gallery and gardens is driven by a mission to work with communities to use art for positive social change, and actively addresses what matters most in people’s lives. We are proudly part of The University of Manchester, operating as a convening space between the University and the people of the city.