A new initiative launched this week could prove the turning point that early-career artists in Rochdale have been waiting for. Breaking Barriers CIC and Richard Street Studios have joined forces to offer three visual artists free studio space, exhibition funding and professional support — the kind of infrastructure that so often eludes creatives just starting out.

The opportunity is open to artists from Rochdale or the Global Majority, and the offer is a substantial one. Each of the three selected creatives will receive ten free days at Richard Street Studios, worth an estimated £1,200, plus a place in a joint exhibition complete with a launch event, a materials budget, and technical and marketing support.

It is a scheme built with a specific gap in mind. For many artists, the earliest stages of a career are also the hardest to sustain: talent rarely lacks for encouragement, but professional studio space and the funding to exhibit properly are another matter. This programme aims to remove that obstacle at precisely the point where it can do the most good.

Breaking Barriers CIC, a British Pakistani-led, multidisciplinary production company, leads the initiative as the lead tenant at Richard Street Studios, with funding support from The Haworth Trust making the opportunity possible.

The studios themselves are part of a wider story of regeneration. Richard Street Studios forms part of Rochdale Creates, a cross-sector initiative to support creativity and culture across the borough. Developed by Rochdale Development Agency and Rochdale Borough Council to bring vacant buildings back into use, the studios are run by Breaking Barriers under a Community Wealth Building approach — creative regeneration with the local community placed firmly at its centre.

The exhibition produced by the three chosen artists will not stand alone: it will feature within a broader exhibition programme at Richard Street Studios, sitting alongside work from local artists and colleges.

Parvez Qadir, Artistic Director at Breaking Barriers, is in no doubt about the appetite for the scheme locally.

"We are really excited to offer this opportunity to local artists. There is a vibrant creative community in Rochdale just waiting for the right opportunity," he said.

"Following an excellent programme of activity as part of the Greater Manchester Town of Culture celebrations, we are determined to keep that momentum going by building the infrastructure that emerging artists can lean on for support, opportunity and connections.

"We are big on partnership building and are delighted to be working with The Haworth Trust to keep developing our local creative ecology."

Artists interested in applying should send a CV along with a portfolio of work — or a two-minute video or audio recording explaining why the opportunity is right for them, how they would use the ten studio days, and their ideas for the joint exhibition — to breakingbarriersprojects@gmail.com.

The application deadline is 5pm on Monday 31 August 2026.