Stronger together: celebrating belonging through art in North Manchester

Earlier this autumn, the opening evening of Afrocats’ ‘Building Stronger Communities’ exhibition in North Manchester was a vibrant celebration of creativity, connection, and community spirit marking the culmination of the ‘Common Threads’ project.

With support from Manchester City Council, North City Library, the Ahmed Iqbal Race Relations Centre, and our partner organisations, this project was an inspiring initiative designed to bring together global majority refugees, asylum seekers, and local residents from across North Manchester to nurture empathy, understanding, participation, and unity across local neighbourhoods.

We helped created safe, welcoming spaces where people from diverse backgrounds could share stories, explore personal identity, and celebrate what connects us all, which were themes explored in our heart-warming short film below:

And project lead Rosa explained how the creative journey spanned partnerships with groups including ESOL learners, Sick! Festival, Khizra Mosque, Abraham Moss College, and Number 93.

‘Participants had open discussions about their identities and communities - everything from small acts like litter picking to expressing themselves freely without fear of judgment.'

She also explained that spaces across the project also became places to talk about loneliness, isolation, and the importance of supporting each other.

One of the exhibition highlights is a collection of ceramics and pebbles (see photos below), symbolising the coming together of different people and experiences.

Rosa shared a touching story about one participant who struggled with a painful hand but was encouraged and supported by others to paint, comparing the motion to making chapattis, a memory that sparked conversations about home and heritage.

These moments of care and cultural sharing became the essence of the project.

Participant Cal, who worked on the colourful collaborative painting below on the theme of unity at Number 93, reflected:

‘It doesn't matter what background you’re from, as long as you’re yourself. It took us about two or three sessions to finish our piece, but the end result looks amazing. I met so many kind people, and the team made us all feel welcome.’

Reece, another participant on the same piece, added:

‘We came up with the idea of different cultures coming together. That’s what our painting represents.’

Read what other participants across the project said about their experiences below:

‘I felt involved and enjoyed the session very much.’

‘Excited, happy, and fulfilled.’

‘Connected, helpful. and successful’

‘I felt so happy because I put all of my heart into it!’

Join us in celebrating the people and stories that make North Manchester stronger together by connecting with us on social – you can find the links at the bottom of this page.