RISE by Henley Festival
Creating opportunities for emerging talent to learn, perform and flourish
Keep up to date with all RISE by Henley Festival news on our Instagram, Facebook and Linked-in socials
With grateful thanks to Westcoast for supporting our RISE Emerging Talent Stage, Audi for supporting the High RISE Gallery and to our other generous donors.
2024 marks the third year of RISE by Henley Festival and its objective hasn’t changed: to support talented, performers, artists and creative professionals who want to pursue a career in the arts industries, in front of the spotlight and behind the scenes. RISE gives opportunities to, up-and-coming musicians and visual artists to take their first steps into a notoriously difficult industry, and supports the backstage staff of the future by giving them paid work experience working hands-on with leading lighting and sound companies, and in marketing and PR.
We are actively working with local and national colleges, universities and performing arts academies to find talented individuals and groups, whatever their story, who will benefit from the opportunities within the Henley Festival provided by RISE.
In 2024 we will be welcoming back to the festival, Bristol-based RISE band, Horses on the Beach, who rocked the post-firework riverside with their upbeat, jazzy, big band sounds. “Our experience performing at Henley was brilliant! The support from the on-site team, sound technicians and artist liaison in the lead up to the event, were all supportive and made the whole process as easy as possible for us.”
HORSES ON THE BEACH, RISE MUSICIAN 2023
“I would absolutely recommend the RISE programme, it was a perfect combination of guided and hands-off when it came to running your own stage, and what a great opportunity for any young person entering sound to be given that responsibility with any potential support needed nearby.”
CELESTE JONES, 2023 RISE SOUND ENGINEER
“I am so grateful to Henley Festival for giving me this opportunity, it’s been such a good experience and the exposure I’m know will do all sorts of good for my career.”
LIZZIE WHEELER, 2022 RISE VISUAL ARTIST
“In the weeks following the festival I have received amazing feedback on the new work. Without your prompt to work on the large size for the auction painting I wouldn’t have found this new thread in my work.”
SAM SMYTH, 2023 RISE VISUAL ARTIST
This year we showcased nine musical acts, from bands to soulful singer/songwriters, on our dedicated RISE stage right in the heart of the festival. We hosted exhibitions from four visual artists, with work ranging from a wrapped car to award winning portraiture, and welcomed four backstage crew students, working with our internationally acclaimed sound and lighting companies, into the Henley festival family. Importantly, all our performance artists and work experience crew are paid, and our visual artists exhibit free of charge with no commission taken on work sold. RISE is actively working with local and national colleges, universities and performing arts academies to find talented individuals and groups, whatever their story, who will benefit from the opportunities within the Henley Festival provided by RISE. We are also keeping up to date with industry organisations which support creatives and can offer great advice and help. This year, we are reaching out to more industry professionals and organisations to improve and develop the programme.
In the future, and with your support, we hope to expand the RISE programme to offer more performance and work experience opportunities at the festival and to look at how we can support our RISE candidates beyond Henley Festival week. We can’t wait to share our exciting RISE 2024 line up with you.
If you would like to find out more about the RISE programme please contact emmae@henley-festival.co.uk and if you would like to make a donation towards RISE and supporting emerging talent you can do so here.