Arts & culture

In this episode of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe interviews Tahera Khanam, founder of Better We and nominee for Volunteer of the Year at the Spirit of Manchester Awards. Tahera shares her journey of creating clubs and training programs to support and empower women and youth in the Manchester community. 

In this episode of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe speaks with Idowu Morafa, Founder of Across Ummah and nominee for Volunteer of the Year and Social Economy Champion at the Spirit of Manchester Awards. Idowu shares her passion for tackling substance abuse, reducing health disparities, and empowering communities through a variety of life-changing projects.

Aim: Support the freelance creatives who made Manchester Pride 2025 unforgettable but were left unpaid.

Manchester Pride 2025 was a celebration of LGBTQ+ creative expression, protest, and love — but behind every magic moment were hundreds of creative freelancers who made it happen.

Now, those same creatives are facing real hardship.

Mustard Tree partners with local artist Len Grant and graphic designer Simon Painter to produce a Mustard Tree charity calendar for 2026.

The calendar features twelve illustrations from the charity’s three hubs in Manchester (Ancoats) and Salford (Eccles and Little Hulton), including scenes from its Community Shops, Food Clubs, training areas and creative clubs. For each month, a short testimonial is included from one of the charity’s clients, staff or trainees.

Join Hearts & Minds, a wonderful community group in Tameside run by Made by Mortals, to help create a brand-new children’s story.

Together with professional artists and musicians, you’ll help shape an uplifting, radio play style podcast about a character living with Parkinson’s, helping children everywhere better understand the condition.

In this episode of 'Meet the Mancunian' hosted by Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe, Francis Duncan, Community Engagement Manager at Irish Community Care, shares insights into the work being done to support the Irish and Irish travelling communities in Manchester. Francis discusses his journey into community work, the challenges faced by the Irish travelling community, common misconceptions, and the impact of their initiatives. He highlights the importance of culturally appropriate communities, advocacy, and education in overcoming biases and fostering understanding.

The Greater Manchester voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) Leadership Group are saddened and shocked to learn of the collapse of Manchester Pride, which not only affects the LGBT+ community but also the wider VCFSE sector.

In the first episode of Season 11 of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, host Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe interviews Jillian Alexander, the founder of the Unbound Programme and a nominee for the Spirit of Manchester Awards in the Inspiring Campaign category. Jillian discusses her journey in tackling modern slavery, from volunteering as a young girl to her impactful work as a first responder for modern slavery survivors.