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CIP Biography:
Ruth Flanagan is a creative health practitioner, artist, and educator based in the North West of England. She works as a Creative Producer with Cartwheel Arts and is a proud Champion of the Lived Experience Network (LENs), advocating for the central role of lived experience in research. With a background in visual arts and an MA in Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Ruth’s art practice explores how working with clay can support recovery following cancer treatment.
With Cartwheel Arts, Ruth has led Crafting Heritage programmes—a two-year exploration of the rich heritage crafts flourishing within Rochdale’s communities with experience of forced migration. Key to her approach is embedding lived experience within the design and delivery of workshops, enabling trust, shared understanding, and the reframing of personal narratives.
Her passion for this work stems from her experience on the Thai-Myanmar border. Through the CIP programme, Ruth will deepen her inquiry into how creativity can drive systemic change for more equitable, accessible, and co-produced arts, enabling people to reshape personal narratives and build community connection.
Project Summary:
CIP Ruth Flanagan will explore the use of crafting methods to promote resilience, belonging and cultural engagement in diverse communities in Rochdale, Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture 2025. In partnership with Cartwheel Arts, Heritage Crafts UK and Greater Manchester Combined Authority, this project draws on the history and legacy of Manchester’s co-operative movement.
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