Lessons Learned: Supporting Artists Through Associate Program​me

In February 2020, Beyond Face hosted our first scratch night at The House in Plymouth. It blended the work of our then Beyond Ensemble as well as the work of young people and new pieces that bridged the gap between the two. We called the scratch night We are Here. This name and ethos proved to be the foundation for our entire subsequent Artist Development offer.

4 years on and with several more scratch nights under our belt, supporting artists from Bristol to Taunton to Cornwall, it was clear that there was no shortage of global majority artists with aspirations to make work in the region. Scratch nights are vital points of creativity and experimentation but the limitations around the work’s development post scratch meant that work with so much potential was not being realised. There was little scope for the piece to be tested rigorously or to share it with different audiences or for an artist’s practice to receive sustained development. With funding opportunities becoming more scarce, theatre companies and arts organisations closing and a more risk averse theatre climate we identified that there was an ever greater need for considerable long-term support both financially and holistically for artists to aid that essential creative process.

This was the genesis of Beyond Face's Associate Artists Programme which supported two South West based artists Lau Batty and Rozelle Gemma over the course of a year, with the completion of the programme in January 2026.  Our programme would involve regular performance opportunities at theatres across the region, in order to test different elements of a new show idea, with the aim that by the end of the process, a brand new and developed piece of work would be created. Through regular workshops and 1:1s with the Beyond Face team, the selected Associates would be able to reflect on and develop both the piece of work and their individual practice. We recognised that this would not be an undertaking that we could take on alone and that working with local partners would be integral to the realisation and delivery of the programme. We worked with Mayflower Studios in Southampton, Bristol Old Vic, Landmark Theatres Ilfracombe and Theatre Royal Plymouth who all provided financial and in-kind support. We used our values of Care, Community, Joy, Representation and Quality in order to shape  the programme. As well as receiving a £5000 investment, each artist would be paid to attend all of the workshops and we offered a wellbeing contribution for each artist too.

The callout for the associates launched in July 2024. We had applications from Cornwall to Wiltshire.  We interviewed 8 artists online before we shortlisted down to 4 artists who we each met for a half day. This was intended to be a workshop where regardless of the ultimate outcome, each artist would benefit from a guided deep dive into their idea, unlocking ideas and providing exercises for them to continue their process. In the end, with so much potential in all four ideas, we offered financial and artistic support to the two who were not selected as Associate Artists. They become Beyond Face Supported artists over a nine month period.

Lau and Roz began the programme in January 2025 and hit the ground running with our first scratch night in Southampton in March. This was followed by subsequent performances in Bristol, Ilfracombe and Plymouth, with the Plymouth sharing the chance to perform the full piece of work in November. It was such a joyful occasion to share the full work with audiences. And having had a front row seat to their passion, talent,  energy and hard work over the course of the year, we were so proud of what they had achieved.

Over the course of the programme we continuously evaluated the offer in response to the needs of the associates. For example, it became clear that more hands-on support was required than initially anticipated in order to facilitate the work. This took up greater capacity and our roles on the programme shifted, for example Alix became the director and dramaturg of one of the pieces whilst I became much more involved in producing the pieces of work. There was great value in having 2 associate artists who could offer peer support to each other. It can never be underestimated the value of having someone who can relate completely to the unique experience that you are navigating.

So what has the associate artists programme offered us? It has offered hope, that the South West is a region brimming with potential with artists who have unique, hopeful, searing, stories about their experiences, their heritage and the way they see the world which have already captured the hearts and minds of audiences across the region. The scope for where they could go is huge. It has also been so encouraging that there are audiences who are excited by and have an appetite for new work like No Woman is an Island (Roz’s play) and How to Grieve Correctly in A Tuvaluan Household with Other Oceanic References (Lau’s play). It enabled us to begin and develop creative relationships with two local artists and gave us the time to really deepen that collaboration.

However it has hit home just how much input is required to create a programme which has care at its core, meaningfully encourages and supports its participants creatively and emotionally and also recognising the challenges of balancing this when it is just one part of an artist’s life and also of our company’s activity. It also required a significant financial commitment, considerably more than we had initially imagined. We calculated that totalling both actual cash investment and in-kind support, we had spent more than £35,000 delivering the programme. 

Something we emphasised to the artists and ourselves from the beginning was that this was a pilot programme. Something to learn and build from. A model to investigate. So even though we are putting the associate artists model down for now, the lessons that we have taken from this are being actively embedded into our other artist development offers and within our other areas of work.

Something that really stuck with me from the evaluation session with Lau and Roz at the end of the programme was the recognition that this programme was something unique, an outlier within the artistic offers currently available in the region. In their own words: “We really appreciate how much has been poured into us.” “There’s no other company offering these things.”

As we move forward with our artist development offer, we are identifying the gaps, investigating where barriers remain and continuing to provide opportunities for global majority artists. For example applications to Beyond Face’s Writers Company, a two year programme for emerging and established South West based writers recently closed and in March, we hosted We are Here to Share: A Celebration, a showcase of early work from local artists and a chance to amplify the impact Beyond Face has had over the past 10 years. The event was also a way to speak directly to our audiences, gathering lots of lovely feedback from attendees, many of whom are regular supporters and participants of our current and previous programmes. It was an uplifting affirmation of the community that Beyond Face creates and exists within, but also a reminder of the importance of being able to hear about the impact of our work and the ways in which it reaches people.