How We Work With Artists

We want to create the conditions for artists to develop and present extraordinary work which is deeply rooted in the present moment and responds to the most urgent questions of our time.  

We’re committed to creating welcoming and inclusive spaces where communities, artists and audiences are connected to collaborate and be creative.  

Ensuring the rich diversity of London is properly represented in our programme is central to our mission and shapes how we programme and develop work at BAC.

We look to develop and present work that is:

  • groundbreaking and unexpected in its ideas and aesthetics
  • pioneering in its commitment to access and inclusion
  • bold in its exploration of otherwise hidden perspectives
  • playful in its approach to traditional forms
  • critically rigorous in its investigations of subject matter
  • socially impactful in its invitation to audiences

HOW WE PROGRAMME

Our programming vision prioritises: 
 

  • Internationalism
    We programme international work and support local artists in internationalising their practice. 
  • Supporting a new generation of artists
    We support early and mid-career artists in developing work to become part of our programme. 
  • Co-creation
    We collaborate with artists and young people to co-curate festivals, focused programmes and building takeovers. 

PROGRAMMING STRANDS

Contemporary Performances
We present diverse range of local and international contemporary performances, including theatre, dance and live arts, and their hybrids. The focus is primarily on devised or company-led work, with exceptions made for plays with an experimental approach to form.  
Festivals and Focus Programmes
We curate and present our own festivals and focus programmes; Bloom and Homegrown. We also collaborate with festivals (LIFT, Dance Umbrella, Shubbak) to co-present works at BAC. 
Building Takeovers
BAC has a long history of presenting intimate and one-on-one performances in various spaces across our building, as well as large scale, building takeovers and immersive theatre productions.  We commission, co-curate with the artists and presents projects that make specific use of the town hall’s unique architecture and creative possibilities. We also explore Town Hall as a concept curating open spaces for the audience to be active participants.
Young People
Engaging with local communities, especially 11 to 25 year olds is a priority. We run Next Gen projects, including the Agency, Beatbox Academy and Dance Academy. We are keen on programming work that involves or speaks to these age groups. We work with our young producers to curate and present the annual Homegrown festival for young people.  
Family Programming
During half term weeks and Christmas, we programme works for younger audiences (3 years plus). 

PROGRAMMING STRUCTURE

Seasons
Each year BAC presents two seasons, Autumn and Spring. The Autumn and Spring Seasons are curated with a focus on longer running shows (3+ weeks) and work we have commissioned or developed in house.
  • Autumn seasons focus on ‘scaling up’ including presenting artists who have created their first mid-scale work through BAC commission or other ways, showcasing artistically, technically and financially ambitious works and increasing audience outreach with long runs.
  • Spring seasons are focused on diversifying curation through collaboration with other festivals in the city, co-curation with artists and young people for developing special projects for the building. We also curate and produce Bloom; a new programming strand for works with short runs that have been developed with BAC over the past year.  
Spaces
Our Producing team shares spaces in the building with our Events team to generate income for its programme. This model is vital for BAC’s resilience in the face of current economic challenges. BAC has two main spaces that programme performances: 
  • Grand Hall (seating up to 470) with 4-6 weeks access in Autumn and 3-4 weeks in Spring seasons.
  • Council Chamber (largest studio space with a capacity 146 seated) with full access during the seasons. 
  • Other spaces in the building, such as Members Bar (up to 80 seated), The Courtyard (outdoor theatre, holds up to 120 people), New Committee Room and Lower Hall are priorities for income generation. Our Producing team collaborates with our Events team when required to use these spaces.
  • We also have eight artists’ bedrooms on site. The rooms provide an opportunity for companies from across the UK and internationally to stay for free whilst working at BAC.         
Financial Deals
We negotiate performance fees and commissions which can be at different rates based on factors. We generally offer a fee against the expected box office income. BAC takes 100% Box Office income. Box Office splits are not generally offered due to the financial risk for artists and freelancers, considering limited capacity of the spaces and Pay What You Can model.   

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Through our Creative Development programme, we work closely with artists to reimagine what performance can be and who it can reach, providing bespoke packages of support to nurture artistic journeys and incubate new performance works. 
 
We use our building as a space to experiment, develop and test ideas. Our spaces have seen the development of projects that have gone on to tour internationally.  
 
With an ethos of collaboration, we bring the diverse skills and expertise of the BAC team to develop ideas with artists. This includes working together to create project timelines, build creative teams, approach partners, fundraise, and make the work accessible, as well as creative dialogue about the artistic direction of the work. 
 
We are committed to supporting creative communities built on reciprocity and exchange. This includes pro-actively forming national and international networks to sustain and elevate artists’ work. 

HOW WE SUPPORT ARTISTS

We develop work through the following strands: 

Making Space

We provide time in the BAC rehearsal spaces free of any hire charges to develop work.

Artist Development

We are continuously developing bespoke programmes focused on peer-to-peer exchange and developing practice, rather than products or presentations. This includes building opportunities for local artists to connect with international artists. 

Commissions

We provide bespoke packages of space, financial and producing support to develop projects for our public programme, as well as seed commissions for testing new ideas and experimenting. We also offer accommodation in the BAC bedrooms for commissioned artists based outside of London. 
 
Our New Dimensions commission is focused on supporting artists to scale up their practice through a partnership commissioning model. 

PROJECTS

A group of people are sat around a large wooden table. One person is speaking and other people are looking at them.

Scene Change

An international exchange programme between six performance makers at three festivals in three countries.

New Dimensions

Five UK organisations have come together to support artists who are ready to dream big and create a new work of scale that can tour nationally and internationally.

Open Research

Through bespoke curated programmes of talks and sharings, with conversation with thinkers and activists, it is an opportunity for artists to bring audience into their making process, to collectively unpick a series of enquiries and begin to imagine how these might translate into a future performance. 

ARTISTS

A person laying on the a blue swirly floor, their face body is covered with transparent blue fabric; you can only see their arms and hands.

Alexandrina Hemsley, Yewande 103

Alexandrina’s new project is commissioned by BAC.

 

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Chisato Minamimura

Chisato is a 2022 Foyle Foundation Commission residency artist.

 

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A man with a dark beard wearing a blue top and black cap.

Conrad Murray (rODIUM productions)

Conrad Murray is artistic director of BAC’s Beatbox Academy. Pied Piper, conceived, written and co-directed by Conrad Murray, is a BAC, BAC Beatbox Academy and rODIUM Co-Production.

The Dan Daw Company

Dan’s new work Spenny (working title) is the 2025 New Dimensions Commission.

 

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A woman is standing in front of microphone with one arm in the air, she is speaking into the mic. She is wearing a grey t-shirt and a multi-coloured cape.

Demi Nandhra

The Trauma Show by Demi Nandhra is a 2022 Foyle Foundation Commission.

 

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A person with short dark hair completely covered in a bright red blood-like liquid.

Ocean Hester Stefan Chillingworth

Ocean Hester Stefan is a Scene Change 2022 artist. Their new work Extinction Trilogy is commissioned by BAC. 

 

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Hugh Malyon

Hugh’s new project is commissioned by BAC.

 

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Jennifer Jackson

Jenni is a Scene Change 2023 artist. 

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Katy Baird

Katy’s new work Get Off is commissioned by BAC.

 

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Krishna Istha

Krishna is a Scene Change 2023 artist. His new work First Trimester is commissioned by BAC.

 

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Liselle Terret

Liselle is a 2022 Foyle Foundation Commission residency artist.

 

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A man with short curly brown hair and a beard.

Mark Maughan

Mark is a Scene Change 2022 artist. Mark’s new work is commissioned by BAC. 

 

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Nwando Ebizie

Nwando is a 2022 Foyle Foundation Commission residency artist.

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Oozing Gloop

Tentacular Spectacular by Oozing Gloop is commissioned by BAC. 

 

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Sonia Hughes

Sonia’s new project ‘Lady Marmalade’ is commissioned by BAC

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Tamm Reynolds

Tamm Reynolds’ project Shooting From Below is commissioned by BAC.

How to connect with us

If you are interested in your work being presented or developed through one of our programmes, find out more about how you can connect with us and our programming and decision-making processes.

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