Myriad Project – Championing Cultural Diversity Through Creative Health
Empowering voices, building connections and supporting emotional wellbeing
through creativity.
Talk Changes was proud to be a delivery partner in Myriad: A Global Majority Spotlight
on Creative Health, an innovative Greater Manchester initiative commissioned by NHS
Greater Manchester and delivered through a consortium including Afrocats and Company
Chameleon.
Running from 2023 to 2025, Myriad aimed to improve access to culturally competent mental
health support for global majority communities, while strengthening diversity and
representation within the creative health workforce.
Our Contribution: Finding Our Voices Through Creativity
As part of Myriad's community-based test-and-learn programme, Talk Changes delivered a
culturally sensitive creative wellbeing project supporting women from global majority
backgrounds.
Through reflective journaling, creative writing, storytelling, group discussions and
collaborative zine-making, we created safe, welcoming spaces where women could explore
their emotions, reconnect with their identities and share their experiences without judgement.
Combining therapeutic expertise, creative practice and lived experience, our sessions
encouraged self-expression, peer connection, emotional resilience and confidence.
The Difference We Made:
40 adult participants engaged across three cohorts, with children and young people also
participating in some sessions.
100% of participants who completed monitoring forms reported feeling more relaxed,
while feedback described the sessions as calming, creative and emotionally safe.
Participants shared how the project helped them feel less isolated, more confident and more
able to express emotions that had previously been difficult to communicate.
One participant reflected:
“Writing helped me hear my own voice again, it’s been a long time.”
The project culminated in a collaborative zine, bringing together participants' reflections,
creative expressions and personal journeys. This gave women an opportunity to share their
stories on their own terms and celebrate the power of their voices.
Creating Lasting Change
Our involvement in Myriad reinforced what we believe at Talk Changes: mental health
support does not always need to begin in a clinical setting. Sometimes, healing begins
through creativity, connection and feeling understood.
The project demonstrated how culturally responsive, trauma-informed creative activities can
help overcome barriers to traditional services and create meaningful opportunities for
emotional recovery.
We continue to build on this learning through our community wellbeing programmes,
ensuring that creativity, compassion and cultural understanding remain central to our
approach.
Empowering the community, one conversation at a time.
