Breakdown Bolton CIC

Founded in 2016, Breakdown Bolton is a community interest company which is peer led by qualified and experienced artists who have had experience of mental health issues. We work in many different art forms and aim to offer our participants high quality arts classes, exhibition, and cultural opportunities. We do this by promoting high level creativity, individual expression, and empowerment through art, in a safe and positive environment for those across the Greater Manchester region. At Breakdown Bolton we focus on increasing accessibility to art for those with lived experience of mental health and substance misuse issues. We are passionate about breaking down the barriers, stigma and prejudice and raising awareness of these issues. Breakdown Bolton can provide a stepping stone towards further artistic development for a person whose education, employment, and creative practices have been interrupted by poor mental health or substance misuse issues. At Breakdown Bolton we have a diverse range of skills within the team which we use to develop and deliver projects of the highest quality. We are professional artists educated at University level, having had visual artwork and writing published and commissioned. Our members have been awarded both individual and collective grants from bodies such as the Arts Council and are Unltd Alumni. In 2017, Breakdown Bolton was nominated for a National Diversity Award. Since then, we have been recipients of a New Art Space through Castlefield Gallery, worked closely with NeoArtists in Bolton, and have forged strong working partnerships with regional arts education organisations such as theatres, galleries, and local community services.