Contemporary circus

Because one of our objectives is to better understand these sectors, Circostrada Network wanted to use the 2006 qualitative study “Circulation of circus and street artworks in Europe” and the indicators established then, to evaluate the impacts of the world economic crisis on our sectors.

Like other networks and international organisations, we hear every week terrible stories of grassroots organizations being forced to downsize or even close down their activity. We wished to update the previous sample survey, by comparing the figures collected for the financial year 2006 with the ones for 2010, in order to get an (incomplete) picture of the situation.

The results of the study were collected by the researcher Anne Tucker (based in the United Kingdom), and this work must be seen as what it is: not ambitious!

Nevertheless, the analysis of the collected data has already provided important indicators for the economy and companies’ mobility. Through a thorough economic analysis of small sample of European companies, the study provides brute data on creative teams’ budgets, show sales, number of performances, and their presence within the country of origin, Europe and the rest of the world.

Circostrada Network organised FRESH CIRCUS#2 - European seminar on the sustainable development of circus arts, April 12-13, 2012. The goal of this moment of reflection and exchange was to formulate a series of practical recommendations to improve the infrastructure and recognition of the sector.

Circostrada Network invites you to discover a synthesis of the FRESH CIRCUS discussions and to revisit the ten themes at the heart of the sustainable development of circus arts.

FRESH CIRCUS#2, through 10 thematic workshops:

• Contemporary circus aesthetics: standardisation, globalisation, diversity of cultural expressions?
• Artistic residency programmes: How to make use of space and time?
• Which types of cooperation with business are possible
• Social circus: what impact for citizens?
• Audience development: the role of new media?
• How do you criticise circus arts?
• From debut to retirement: which professional pathways?
• “Green circus arts”: what environmental responsibilities
• Our neighbours from other continents: which collaborations are possible?
• After production and co-production, who is commissioning?

Circostrada Network offers the third online publication in the series of guides dedicated to artistic residencies specialising in street arts and circus, or hosting artists from these sectors.

After the guides dedicated to Belgium and France, this publication provides a list of practical information about the venues listed in the United Kingdom.

It includes detailed descriptions of residency venues classified by geographical area, in order to raise awareness of existing opportunities, professionalise artistic practices and encourage international mobility.

Circostrada Network organized four European seminars for Policy Makers working in Arts Councils, Ministries in charge of Cultural Affairs or institutions promoting Arts & Culture abroad. The objectives were to give these officers and decision makers the opportunity to know more about political traditions and contexts in Europe and expose them to a series of policies and schemes made available to support the outdoor creation and contemporary circus.

These successful gatherings, organized each time in close partnership with a member state, allowed experts to explore new connections, compare work methods and exchange good practices to provide the necessary conditions for a sustainable development of our emerging sectors.

This publication, commissioned to the researcher Cristina Farinha, is a first step in collecting information regarding existing support mechanisms, as interesting examples to inspire other European regions or countries.

Kejos - centre of support of artistic and research initiatives (Wroclaw, Poland) - publishes in partnership with Circostrada Network the 2015 guide about New Circus and Art in Public Space in Poland.

The Guide is an attempt to summarize the last decade of the modern Polish circus and gather information about the current landscape of circus and street art.

Coordinated by Marta Kuczyńska, initiator of Kejos, this guide aims to contribute to the popularization of national artists, producers, educators and their projects as well as help in the development and recognition of outdoor theatre and circus as an art form in Poland.