Creatives Now’s Belonging in Bolton project brought together creative practice and community dialogue to explore what connection, identity and shared space mean within the town. Building on our wider social cohesion conversations addressing hate crime and social polarisation, the project created structured opportunities for young people and residents to reflect on belonging as both a personal experience and a collective responsibility.

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Supported by a grant from Bolton Council, we delivered a studio photography project led by artist Verena Kennedy, enabling young participants to explore personal and group identity through portraiture. Alongside this, mural design workshops with Sally Tomato invited young people to visualise belonging in bold, public-facing ways. The resulting design was transferred to Believe Achieve CIC, where it was collaboratively realised as a mural at the youth club, embedding youth voice directly into community space.

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Participants also designed and produced screen-printed t-shirt with messages of community solidarity with artist Louise Garman at neo:artists Studios, and developed an interactive 'Map of Care', inviting visitors to identify places in Bolton they value and where opportunities for social connection occur. The map functioned as both artwork and consultation tool, encouraging residents to articulate what they love about the town and where belonging is strengthened or could be improved.

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Alongside these core strands, a programme of creative public activities invited wider community participation in reflecting on and designing belonging in Bolton. Through making, conversation and shared authorship, the project positioned young people as active contributors to civic dialogue and demonstrated how creativity can support social connection, visibility and pride of place.