21st October 2026
Join acta and friends for a digital seminar on Supporting Emerging Artists. We will be sharing learning from the last Elevate cohort, who met in 2024. Elevate is a skills-building programme for early-career socially engaged theatre-makers and artists who are interested in working with a specific community of people.
We have recently launched a new term of Elevate, and so what better time to hear from alumni. We intend for this to be an honest reflection on the relationship between emerging artist and organisation. In an increasingly challenging financial landscape, where can emerging artists find funding? How can organisations create opportunities for artists? Is it possible to build a symbiotic relationship between artist and organisation that helps strengthen one another’s standing?
We will hear from two past Elevate participants, Bella and Phoebe:
Bella Finlayson (she/ they) is a multidisciplinary artist, director and producer working at the intersection of performance and social justice. Their practice often centres on socially engaged projects with a particular focus on queerness, protest, and climate justice. Bella’s recent project, BOUND, focused on the state of protest in the UK, examining the physical and emotional repercussions of the chilling effect and their own response to through an emotional and somatic lens.
Phoebe Kemp (they/them) is a director, creative access consultant, movement director and workshop facilitator based in Bristol. They make political work infused with joy and hope. As a queer, neurodivergent, wheelchair user, they are passionate about making accessible work. In 2025 Phoebe directed the first all-trans and non-binary production of a Shakespeare plays As Trans What You Will’s first production “Twelfth Night” was a rehearsed reading performed at The Space in London, and livestreamed worldwide to over 2000 people.
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important details
Date: Wednesday 21st October
Time: 1pm – 2.00pm
Prior to the event, you will be sent the online link via email, and information regarding joining the meeting.
accessibility
This event will be live online, and we will enable closed captions.
If you have any specific access needs that you would like to discuss with us, such as a request for audio descriptions, or a request for materials sent ahead of time, please contact Rosa at rosa@acta-bristol.com and we will work to support your requirements as best we can.
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