Instigate Arts

Instigate Arts understands the difficulties faced by artists in today’s current climate, especially those who are marginalised for reasons of class, gender, sexual orientation and economics. We understand the challenges faced by independent venues across the country. We also know the impact art and ideas have on people’s wellbeing and society as a whole and so create projects intended to support artists and ideas, make new work and make positive social change.

Across June 2025, we sent five artists into five Salford drinking establishments. They were tasked to document folklore, rumours and memories of drinking in Salford pubs. From this each artist will archive stories and create a bespoke artwork to be displayed in the pubs during Salford’s centenary year. On the 14th and 15th August, we will be launching ‘Trails, Pales and Centenary Tales’. A trail map will link all five pubs, guiding visitors between venues.

Here we speak to Dean Brocklehurst about his practice, journey and involvement in the Salford 100 project ‘Trails, Pales and Centenary Tales’

1.    Tell us about your practice?
I have been a filmmaker for nearly two decades, with a particular interest in guerrilla filmmaking, documentary and storytelling. Throughout my career, I have been drawn to people with compelling stories and to documenting lives, histories and moments of cultural significance that might otherwise be overlooked or lost. My feature documentary David Vaughan: Black on Canvas was supported by The Heritage Lottery Fund and premiered at the Raindance Film Festival. Alongside my documentary work, I have written and directed a number of short narrative films, exploring themes of identity, community and what it means to be who we are.

My commitment to filmmaking as a tool for social change led me to establish The Homeless Film Festival, a charity dedicated to empowering people with lived experience of homelessness through filmmaking workshops, film screenings and providing a pathway to employment. The charity grew from a series of collaborative short films to an internationally renowned touring film festival incorporating a short film programme, university lectures, cinema screenings and Q&A’s with influential people from film and the charity sectors. This experience reinforced my belief that filmmaking can be both an artistic practice and a catalyst for social change.

I have founded two independent cultural venues, previously The Talleyrand in Levenshulme and now The Nico Ditch in Ashton-under-Lyne, both are essential grassroots spaces for artists, musicians, filmmakers and local communities to connect, collaborate and share new work.

Across every aspect of my practice, whether filmmaking, education, cultural programming or community development, my guiding principle has remained the same: to create meaningful cultural experiences that have a lasting, positive impact on the communities in which I work. I believe film is not only a powerful means of documenting the world around us but also a way of bringing people together, amplifying underrepresented voices and creating opportunities for participation, dialogue and change.

2. Can you tell us about yourself and your journey as a creative?
I grew up in East Manchester which at the time was recognised as one of the most poor and disadvantaged communities in England. It wasn’t that we had no sense of community it’s that we had nothing there. One corner shop and a Kwik Save. Welcome to Clayton (and Beswick before that which is now more fashionably named ‘Eastlands’). As a youngster had to be good at either fighting or running (the latter served me well).  In addition to that I was disengaged in the classroom environment, with only 60% attendance in my last year of school, so I had no idea what careers were available when I left. I started and dropped out of college three years running, choosing subjects I had no knowledge of and unsurprisingly no interest in.

Then by chance one of my mum’s ex-boyfriends brought a flyer home for a filmmaking course in Hulme. It was detailing a City & Guilds nine month Film and Media course at The WFA! It had a picture of a cool looking film camera and the opportunity to use it blew my mind. It was a sony PD150 and it changed the direction of my life. Suddenly I found an outlet for my creativity and I was drinking cups of coffee with like minded people and doing exciting film projects. We would burn them on to VHS. From there I studied at college in Ashton Under Lyne, went to University in Manchester Met and started two filmmaking companies, starting an adventure of freelance filmmaking that would take up the next 25 years of my life. I eventually managed to by my own PD150 which was the bees knees before the eventual rise of the DSLR camera. 

3. How has the Salford Centenary project changed how you feel about your own practice?
I was chosen to work with the venue and patrons of Worsley Stores to create a short film. Initially I had ideas of a more abstract and stylistically short film, however when I arrived it became clear the story could only be about the community that frequented the bar. Documenting their enthusiasm to talk about their friendship group, stories and community dictated the direction of the film and it was much more imperative to document that energy. People wanted to document this moment in time, like a polaroid. They laughed, teased, discussed family, relationships. Their moment, on that day, in that time, became the most important thing to honour.

4. Why do you think the themes of trails, pales and centenary tales are important in   the current social, economic and political environment?
We simply cannot document the history of Salford without visiting the pubs. They are the bedrock of our culture and need to be preserved. An intergenerational space ensuring memories are shared, folklore stories are told, friends meet and heartbreaks are healed. Additionally to this we have to fight to ensure the narrative voices and grant funds are not dictated by large art organisations and charities. We need to ensure art doesn’t just happen in art galleries, they happen in pubs, in the street, in small venues, in empty spaces. All that said I think it’s important to recognise Salford 100 for funding this project and recognising the significance the pubs of Salford have had on shaping Salford over the last 100 years.

5. Part of this project involves receiving coaching support from the brilliant Salford based organisation Result CIC. How has this been for you?
I’d like to give a shout out to Garth who thank’s to Result CIC has been by coach throughout this project. His insight is not just professional, he was a godsend when I was feeling overwhelmed working on this project, being a single parent to two kids, a supporting an autistic family member once a week and running my own business. A calming energy offering perspective and practical advice. 

6.   What has working with Instigate Arts made possible that wouldn’t have happened otherwise?
Instigate Arts has huge ambition to provide meaningful change in the arts sector and as a freelance filmmaker for decades I have a deep knowledge of the challenges facing early career and aspiring creatives. I have found grant funding harder and harder to get and when successful my projects have been burdened by long applications and evaluation processes as well as tight restrictions on delivery. Because of this myself and many of my artist peers are forced into taking unfulfilling freelance jobs to help pay the bills. This feels like just the start for Instigate Arts in confronting these challenges and I’ve been honoured to make a contribution to this through the Salford 100 project.  

Read profiles of all of the Instigate Arts Salford 100 artists here.