The Road to Recovery: Working in Partnership with Aspire Drug and Alcohol Service
Since 2023, Heritage Doncaster has been working on a series of small projects, called Culture Hubs, in different areas across the borough. The aim of these projects is to create something for the local community, with the community. We work with volunteers in each area to create a project that is relevant and accessible to people where the project is based. Often, this links to the local history of that area, or to local art or culture. In 2025, Heritage Doncaster partnered with Aspire, a drug and alcohol recovery service in Doncaster, on a co‑produced project all about recovery. The above artwork was created at New Beginnings in Balby, an out-patient recovery centre that supports people to build a new and sober life. At New Beginnings, people are supported to reflect on the past, learn new skills, gain confidence, and be open to the support of peers as they progress on their recovery journey.
Our project was designed around the NHS’s 5 ways to wellbeing guidelines, in order to fit in with the participants’ treatment programme. However, all of the particulars of the project were decided by the participants themselves during a series of consultation sessions – a process known as co-production or co-curation. The group decided they would like to create some artwork, as many of them already enjoyed art and wanted the chance to learn a new hobby that they could take forward into their sober life.
After several consultations the group decided they wanted to produce an artwork that not only looked beautiful, but that helped to promote understanding of what happens at New Beginnings and tackle the stigma that still surrounds addiction. We partnered with a local artist and teacher, Jill Temporal, to guide us through the process of designing and creating a large multimedia mural of a Roman Road. The symbolism of a Roman Road was chosen for its links to our local history – Doncaster was originally a fort on a branch of Ermine Street, now known as Roman Ridge. In this artwork, the road represents the recovery journey that the participants themselves are undertaking. They also added butterflies, tools, foliage, and signposts to symbolise some of their ideas about recovery – themes such as new life, fresh starts, and new coping mechanisms. Most importantly, a silhouette of a group of people walking the road together represents the importance of peer support and community to a recovery journey.
To accompany the mural, curators from Heritage Doncaster chose some Roman artefacts to display alongside the artwork. Items were selected that aligned with the themes chosen by the participants, including a cast of a Roman shoeprint that was found on Roman Ridge.
After several months of hard work, the exhibition was complete and installed in Balby Library, which is round the corner from New Beginnings. We held a celebratory event in the library so that the participants could get together, see their artwork, and celebrate their achievement. It was a joyous occasion for everyone, and it was wonderful to see how proud the group was of their creation.
Staff and participants admiring the artwork (photo credit: James Mulkeen)
The partnership was a great success. The participants all enjoyed the experience, and several have gone on to access our museum and library services who hadn’t done so before. Some of them took up drawing or painting as a new hobby. Several participants expressed that the project allowed them to become more comfortable talking about addiction and recovery, and they all felt proud that they had created something beautiful for their local community that helps to improve people’s understanding of the incredible work that happens at New Beginnings.
Huge thanks to everyone at New Beginnings, and artist Jill Temporal, for their hard work in creating this beautiful and meaningful work. Your honesty, courage, and skills are inspiring. Thanks also to the volunteers at Balby Library for supporting with this project.
Thank you to the UKRI/AHRC Mobilising Community Assets to Address Health Inequalities Programme for generously funding this project, and for our embedded researcher Chloe for her help. Thank you to Doncaster’s Creative Board for their ongoing support.
