Cartwheel Arts uses a wide range of creativity and art forms, including visual arts, creative writing, and spoken word, to engage diverse and underserved communities in Rochdale, Oldham, Bury, Wigan, and Greater Manchester.
Meet the people who shape our work—our dedicated team, board, and network of practitioners.
Everything we do is grounded in our commitments to Anti-Discrimination, Environmental Responsibility, and Digital Inclusion.
Our policies guide how we work, setting clear standards of conduct and responsibility for everyone involved.
We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us for enquiries, collaborations, or more information.
We advocate for excellence and best practice in participatory arts and promote the sector’s development in the North West of England and further afield.
Established in1984, Cartwheel Arts has 40 years of experience in developing imaginative and, often challenging, art projects; we do not shy away from confronting complex or sensitive issues.
Our focus is on using creativity to support well-being and expand the horizons of diverse communities across the borough of Rochdale and Greater Manchester.
We meet people where they are at, often delivering on people’s doorsteps or in neighbourhood community centres, offering a diverse range of art forms and working with a wide range of creative practitioners and artists to meet the needs of participants.
Cartwheel Arts champions the artistic quality and creativity of our artists with diverse lived experiences. Over the years, we have supported people participating in our projects to exhibit their work at HOME Manchester, The Whitworth, Touchstones and one artist to exhibit in a solo show at Old Trafford Creative Space.
We currently receive contributions to our core funding from Arts Council England (ACE) and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), as well as project funding from a range of sources, including charitable trusts and foundations, local authorities, government departments, the NHS, universities, and academic partners.
Cartwheel Arts’ work would not be possible without the support and regular collaboration with a diverse range of partners across Rochdale and Greater Manchester. We are always keen to connect with and explore opportunities with new partners and peer organisations.
Cartwheel Arts co-creates inclusive artistic opportunities with diverse communities that enhance wellbeing and celebrate culture and heritage.
We call this Art for a Reason.
Creativity and culture are fundamental parts of what it means to be human.
Our vision is for a world where everyone has access and opportunities to create, participate and belong.
There are three core programmes to our work:
Art for Wellbeing offers targeted creative provision and robust mental health support for people aged 0 to 100 in the borough of Rochdale and Greater Manchester.
Stronger Communities uses our collaborative approach to deliver creative activities in hyper-local areas that amplify voices, support community cohesion, and respond to local issues.
You Live and Learn is our life-long learning and skills development programme, which includes professional training, volunteering, and progression pathways.
These programmes are underpinned by our core commitments to Anti-Discrimination, Digital Inclusion and Environmental Responsibility. To find out more visit:
In 2024, we published our new six-year strategy, which outlines our ambitions and goals for 2030.
