Mark Prest

Mark Prest is a British curator, recovery activist, and founder of Portraits of Recovery (PORe), the UK’s only international visual arts charity dedicated to lived or living experiences of substance use and recovery. A man himself in long-term recovery, Prest’s lived experience has profoundly shaped his curatorial practice, shifting it toward socially engaged work that challenges stigma and fosters cultural inclusion.

With over 23 years in the visual arts, Prest began his career developing a nationally recognised exhibitions programme at The City Gallery, Leicester. His unique perspective — combining personal insight with professional expertise — positions him as a leading voice in the field of Recoverism, a cultural philosophy that views recovery as a creative, cultural process.

Recoverism challenges clinical and moral narratives by positioning people in recovery as active cultural contributors, artists, collaborators, and storytellers whose lived experience holds social and artistic value. Rooted in Manchester’s legacy of social change, Recoverism promotes dignity, inclusion, and systemic transformation through the arts.

Founded in 2011, PORe collaborates with leading contemporary artists and people in recovery to co-create work that re-frames addiction and recovery identities. Its work has been showcased across the UK and internationally, including partnerships with Manchester Art Gallery, the Whitworth, and Towner Eastbourne.

PORe believes arts and culture are transformational in themselves. Under Prest’s leadership, its mission is to increase access to cultural opportunity and enable people in recovery to contribute to an emergent cultural identity — redefining recovery through creativity, dignity, and community.