Emotional Biodiversity

Stockport place-based commissioning pilot

Artist: Di Mainstone

Producers: FutureEverything

Partners: Stockroom, Stockport Council

What happened?

‘Emotional Biodiversity’ was Stockport’s first place-based commission at the Stockroom. Produced by FutureEverything with artist-filmmaker Di Mainstone. Developed through 2024–25 and launched on 10 July 2025, the work explored climate emotions as lived, local experience, combining filmed performance, 3D modelling, sound, and sculptural elements. 

Di says: “By being on the ground and filming here, it changed and diverted our narrative a lot, but in a way that was really positive. It feels like Stockport itself co directed this film.”

Co-creation was embedded through workshops with three distinct groups (including people with lived experience of homelessness, a mums-and-young-children group, and an intergenerational drop-in). Participants decorated sculptural ‘bulbs’ and contributed recorded interviews that became the narrative spine and soundtrack.

What changed?

The commission tested whether a high-ambition, community-rooted digital artwork could help re-animateStockport town centre and embed cultural participation in a civic space. Stockroom’s hybrid nature (library/social hub/gallery) enabled both intentional visits and accidental engagement. Participants’ stories were literally built into the work, increasing ownership and the likelihood of return visits with family and friends. For FutureEverything, the project strengthened their capability, deepened roots in Stockport via relationships with the Council and local groups, and contributed to their financial resilience at a key time of transition.

“We want to bring people back into the town centre. You can’t just plant art there. You have to make art collaborative. and give people ownership.”

What value did GM Arts add?

GM Arts’ co-commissioning with Stockport Council enabled a more ambitious project by blending funding streams and using their investment to leverage £100k of additional CDF funding (alongside UKSPF). It also strengthened the proposition of Emotional Biodiversity as a tourable framework, which could set up replicable commissioning for unique, place-specific content. 

Trust-based commissioning relationships was key from FutureEverything’s perspective:

“Our experience with Stockport Council has been excellent. They basically said, ‘Here’s the funding, we trust you, go ahead and do it’. Each new borough could commission a locally bespoke version, following the same process and along similar timelines.”

What was learned and how it could go forward?

Artists could challenge assumptions about outcomes and process but also appreciated stakeholder priorities. Civic venues like Stockroom require deliberate user experience design so teams can confidently interpret the work. Other lessons include re-engagement plans so community involvement doesn’t fall away if the project is delayed.

Looking ahead, Emotional Biodiversity provides a practical template for GM Arts to scale this type of place-based digital commission: define touring expectations upfront (new co-created versions, not replication), resource the producing role that holds artist/ community/ civic partners together, and set payment milestones aligned to real artistic deliverables (workshops, draft cut, installation, launch). This approach would allow other boroughs to adopt the framework with integrity.