ReCITE is an ongoing research project. While we’re not currently recruiting new participants, we invite you to follow the project and explore our work so far.
ReCITE (Building Research by Communities to Address Inequities Through Expression) is a groundbreaking three-year project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, with Writing on the Wall as the lead creative partner, ReCITE uses storytelling and creativity to tackle health inequalities in Liverpool, Knowsley, and Sefton.
ReCITE aims to:
What’s Your Story?
In Autumn/Winter 2024-25 we ran three blocks of What’s Your Story? workshops over six weeks in Liverpool, Sefton, and Knowsley. Each led by a different local writer, these workshops provided a welcoming space for participants to come together, share their personal stories of health inequalities, and transform them into pieces of creative writing. The workshops culminated in an inspiring sharing event in February ’25, where participants from all three boroughs came together to share their work in front of an audience of friends and family.
Creative Health Exchange
ReCITE is all about doing things differently in the health space. In March ’25, we led on the delivery of a Creative Health Exchange in the stunning Liverpool Light House. The day brought together health providers, community organisations, creatives, academics and more, to showcase what creative health work is already being done in the city region, and to spark new connections and collaborations.
Background
Liverpool has a rich heritage of arts and culture, but it also ranks as the third most deprived local authority in the country. The city faces growing health inequities fueled by the rising cost of living, the COVID-19 hangover, diminishing trust in public services, and growing mental health struggles. These disparities are evident in troubling health data: declining immunisation rates, a 12.5-year life expectancy gap between the wealthiest and poorest, 3 out of 10 children living in poverty, and in the most deprived areas, people are 2.23 times more likely to die from COVID-19.
In North Liverpool, too few women are going for routine breast screening where uptake is well below the national average of 62%. In this film short, Liverpool actress Eithne Browne reads a poem written by local creative Leonisha Barley, addressing women’s fears about mammograms and what to expect during the breast screening process.
