Alison Burnley is a creative producer with a focus on supporting communities and emerging artists to share their stories through theatre, ceremony and song. Whether reimagining folk tales and feasting on medieval bread; or contemplating what we’re thankful for whilst lighting floating bonfires, she creates experiential works that provoke the mind and gives voice to communities.
Alison has worked in numerous producing roles throughout her eighteen-year career, including co-founding Inside Out Arts in Merseyside, freelancing with the BBC as area manager/producer delivering participatory events for young people and as Communities Producer at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
Alison returned to live in Scotland after eight years in Australia, where she produced works for major institutions such as BrisAsia, State Library of Queensland and Woodfordia Inc as well as creating independent works premiered at Brisbane Festival.
Rite of passage and communities are at the heart of her work. Since becoming a mother, Alison’s passion for supporting women in their momentous rite of passage of matrescence (it’s a real word – go have a google) has developed, and as such she has trained as a matrescence facilitator and postnatal doula and launched community project, The Mama Circle.
Alongside her regular producing and community engagement work, Alison is currently exploring how her motherhood work and arts practice can work contemporaneously with one another to support families to create and share stories, build nurturing ritual into parenthood and foster belonging within the mothering community.
After eight years down under Alison’s first UK gig was with Edinburgh-based Oi Musica on their mass participation song project for COP26, Let it Grow, in collaboration with The Soundhouse Choir and Karine Polwart.
She has since had the pleasure to work with Findhorn Bay Arts as their Production & Operations Manager for the 2022 Findhorn Bay Festival, offer production support on Agile Art’s Touring Fund production, Extremely Pedestrian Chorales, work as associate producer for children’s theatre company, Frozen Charlotte and produce Dance North’s annual contemporary dance and performance festival two years’ running.
In early 2023, Alison formalised her ongoing collaboration with producer, Ellie Davies; setting up Riff Raff Producing CIC, a production house offering producing and marketing services to arts organisations whilst also developing our own projects, programmes and productions for main caregivers and their families in Moray.
Now returned to Victoria, Australia; Alison continues to work with Riff Raff as Co-Exec Producer whilst exploring opportunities to collaborate with artists in Australia and seek out opportunities for exchange between Australian artists and Riff Raff’s Scottish based clients.
alisonburnley.com 