Rifco Associates Scheme

Rifco has made a commitment to delivering a structured pathway of support for British Asian and South Asian artists and creatives called Rifco Associates.

Rifco Associates is a two-year rolling programme of support for artists in early stages of their career and mid-career. This structured programme of support is about opening up access to a wider range of people working in theatre and celebrating the voices of British Asian contemporary artists both on the stage and behind the scenes.

There is a bespoke approach to each Associate through a programme of small commissions, workshops and peer-to-peer mentoring.

The Rifco Associates programme is structured as Year One and Year Two with an initial one-year commitment to up to six artists. A proportion of Associates are then supported for a second year:

Year One

• Initial meeting to discuss ideas and identify where each Associate needs guidance
• Associates are granted a seed commission of £500 to research and develop a new idea 
• An industry mentor acts as a Critical Friend to each Associate with two progress meetings to support realising ideas, signposting other resources and organisations and critiquing the artistic process
• Providing a platform event for Associate to share initial ideas with each other, a mentor and a carefully selected group of industry peers
• Two Associate Learn & Share Days providing the opportunity to skill share
• Advice from Rifco staff team in a range of arts management topics

Year Two

• Meeting to discuss initial seed commission and identify next steps
• Bespoke Support Plan developed with budget
• An Industry mentor to act as a Critical Friend, which may be the same as Year One. Two progress meetings to support Associates including critiquing artistic process
• Provide an opportunity for Associates to show their work to a wider audience and the wider industry if appropriate
• Rifco team to provide signposts to ensure that Associates have a solid pathway into the wider industry

If you would like to find out more about the Rifco Associates Scheme please email: associates@rifcoarts.com