What is Percent for Art?

Our Percent for Art Team are based in our Community Engagement Team and work across all areas of Bolton. Members of the team work with residents, community groups, partners and other community stakeholders to develop socially engaged arts projects that help to improve our communities and benefit customers.

We commission appropriate artists or arts organisations, to work with the local community, and we manage the project from start to finish. The Percent for Art service actively encourages individuals and community groups to get involved in schemes that can offer creative solutions to neighbourhood issues.

Ideas for arts projects can come from our neighbourhood teams and they will focus on specific neighbourhood priorities or be developed through conversations with community groups, partner organisations or other community stakeholders.  Sometimes local arts projects are developed through wider Greater Manchester, regional or national networks or funding.

Our service also offers advice and guidance to our partners with regard to developing arts projects involving other social housing customers across Bolton.  We have also been commissioned by partners to project manage a number of community arts and public / environmental art projects in Bolton.

Projects can be in any medium including visual arts, performance, music, crafts, digital art and film. They can take the form of arts based consultation, skills and confidence building projects, arts in health and wellbeing work, festivals and celebratory arts, as well as streetscaping and environmental arts projects designed to enhance the physical environment.

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2024 Bolton at Home Sponsored Banners - Black History Group

2024 Bolton at Home Sponsored Banners -  Black History Group

Bolton Black History Group (based at Bolton Socialist Club in Wood Street, Bolton) work with The University of Bolton each year and research three people of African and/or Caribbean Heritage to raise awareness about the achievements and personal struggles of local, national, and international key figures in celebration of black heritage and culture during Black History Month.

Bolton at Home sponsored the printing of banners for Black History Month 2024.

The volunteers contacted many Bolton based groups across Bolton to consult with them about which contemporary or historical people they would like them to research and profile during Black History Month 2024 and this is how Cindy Ngamba, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti were chosen. The pullup banners produced are exhibited across events held in Bolton during Black History Month.

You'll also find digital copies of the banners below:

Photo and story of Cindy Winner Djankeu Ngamba, the first athlete from the Refugee Olympic Team to win a medal Photo and story of Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti aka The Lioness of Lisabi, wo became one of the first female students to attend the Abeokuta Grammar School, in 1914 Photo and story of Ken Saro-Wiwa who was a civilian administrator in the Niger Delta in 1967 and went on to become an influential writer, journalist, TV producer, environmental and civil rights campaigner