Mediating discussions, critical actions, and ideas

What is the common denominator of a sense of safety from a young professional's eye in the circus sector, and what is important to underline or still missing from reflections on risk? And what about enlarging the spectrum, including the sociological element of safety beyond the circus bubble?
During the conference Circus - a safe(r) space for danger by Circuscentrum, Ell Circo D’ell Fuego and MAD Festival, I attended two workshops exploring safety from a holistic perspective. In this text, I recap my experience as a participant in Mieke Gielen's workshop Trauma-informed Approach and Monitoring the health and wellbeing of circus artists by Marion Cossin (CRITAC) and Janine Stubbe (CODARTS). The closing panel of the second day of the conference, On safety and risk-taking, moderated by Petra van Brabrandt with Stav Zelniker, Laura Tikka, Jan Naets, and Dr. Franziska Trapp as guests ended the day, summarising the topic from a collective viewpoint while honouring the complexities. Some points have been made as an introduction to each paragraph, to highlight the perspectives we came to through each collective experience, thus motivating and inspiring the flow of thoughts around every aspect of this article.

Read all about it, and about the whole conference, on the website of Around About Circus!

Trauma-informed, injuries monitored. Beyond safety and risk with new paradigms

A recap of my experience of a whole day at the Circus: a safe(r) space for danger conference in Antwerp, Belgium

Why do we tour abroad? What is our motive for reaching out and proposing transnational mobility and collaboration to potential partners from the other corner of Europe? Well, for Ki Omos Kineitai(And Yet it Moves), the reasons are manifold. Firstly, as an experienced artistic group with more than 20 years of activity in the Greek circus scene, it is vital to introduce our work to audiences and communities that might be interested in it, in terms of its multidisciplinary aesthetic quality and identity, which characterizes every work. Being able to connect cultural professionals of different backgrounds and styles, going from classical texts and folklore myths to absurd post-dramatic performances in unique steel structures on and off stage, while keeping a distinct identity, is one of the core strengths of this group. Next to it, are the quintessential elements of the ‘Ki Omos Kineitai' mentality of solidarity, community, and sharing, expressed over the years through countless educational modules such as workshops and seminars, to people of all ages and backgrounds, as well as performances able to be performed in all kinds of spaces indoor or outdoor, able to reach the communities in their places.

However, the necessity to become part of a global context comes with the challenges of coming from a local context where the contemporary circus is under-represented and lacking any professional recognition by government and cultural policy frameworks and academic curriculums. In that sense, forming international collaborations would need to largely count upon international possibilities and open calls, such as Perform Europe. But, even if the calls for more sustainable, green, and inclusive touring are well justified and central to the current state of the (art)world, it is questionable how these can be put into practice, by whom, and for whom.

Being in the Southernmost tip of Europe, despite some -celebrated- positives, can also mean larger distances to be covered and thus greater difficulties in reducing costs and emissions. Does this mean that production from Greece should only look towards neighboring countries and regions such as Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Balkans because that would be more sustainably viable? The other way around, should productions and partners coming from more socially stable countries where the cultural frameworks allow space and support for contemporary circus, be looking only in their neighboring countries for touring possibilities due to the expenses that would be required to bring their productions to more distant locations? Furthermore, does this geographical, but also political, economic, and social situation mean that all productions should focus on more flexible and portable artistic work of solo artists or duos, instead of larger multidisciplinary works such as that often made by Ki Omos Kineitai?

To respond to these considerations, the team of Ki Omos Kineitai has come up with and is glad to present a multifaceted approach, responding both to touring possibilities of its work ‘’God’s Particle’’ and hosting possibilities at its own theatre space ‘’Theatro Roes’’. Next to those, of course, are various educational possibilities, with the double goal of hosting the first international circus festival in Athens, as well as establishing a national social circus school.

To view more, you are invited to check out the updated website of Ki Omos Kineitai

Ki Omos Kineitai calling!

A reflection on international sustainable touring between cultural professionals coming from distinct sociopolitical situations.

In this first article of three during my research traineeship at DutchCulture | TransArtists, I argue that artist residencies in peripheries have greater potential than offering just a break, a getaway and a shelter to artists from sociopolitical and financial crises they are faced with nowadays. Instead, artist residencies can function as places where processes of deep mapping and long-term relationships of care between the visiting artists and the surrounding community can be established. Additionally, artist residencies, together with galleries and local contributions, can foster a decentralization and a recentralization of practices, which can be crucial and beneficial for all stakeholders.

Why Artist Residencies in the Periphery are Essential

Far from being a luxury or a holiday, an artist residency can be a tool for re-imagining and re-structuring the ecology of art, especially in critical times.

The field of artist residencies knows many challenges: the lack of professionalisation that burdens many artists and organisations, and the lack of systematic, focused efforts aiding to the recognition and support of artist residencies in many countries and regions, to name but a few. Additionally, artist residencies can vary greatly, in terms of their location and specialization, the expected outcome after the stay of the artists, as well as their organizational standpoint, since they can be hosted by individual artists, collectives, or institutions.
In this third article that I wrote during my research traineeship at DutchCulture | TransArtists, I argue how this multiplicity of forms for artist residencies, can actually be a tool that underlines their unique potential, instead of an obstacle of definition and categorization.

The hybridity of artist residencies and its potential

Too many different formats, geographies, and priorities for artist residencies. How can we study them and understand their potential?

Last September, DutchCulture organised the live event Country Focus: Spain – Changing Landscapes, New Residency Opportunities. The main focus was the important role of art and culture in a democratic society in general, and specifically artist residencies as a creative way to develop long-term relationships between people and places. Or, as DutchCulture’s director Kirsten van den Hul put it in her opening speech: “spaces of resistance to cultural polarization”.

But before we look back at the event, I had the chance to talk with keynote speaker Rosa Cerarols, an expert wearing two hats: “I’m an academic cultural geographer who has been working at the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona for many years, trying to understand how culture interacts with nature in specific places and how that is part of people’s knowledge and roots. But as co-founder of Konvent Zero, a contemporary cultural centre located in an old nunnery in the industrial river colony of Berguedà, Catalonia, I’m also an activist interested in how we deal with culture in rural areas, from a political, economic and artistic perspective.”

Immerse yourselves about it on the website of DutchCulture!

Give back to the community: can residencies help face the challenges of rural Spain?

Cultural geographer and residency host Rosa Cerarols believes culture offers innovative solutions to challenges in Spain's non-urban areas.

The second article of three, during my research traineeship at DutchCulture | TransArtists. Here, inspired by Rolan Barthes' lectures on 'How to live together', I examine how artist residencies can foster moments of collectivity against the much advertised individualistic approach of the art market, and can act as more than just ''badges'' for the next opportunity in an artist's career. In fact, it seems that the stakes are always higher for the artists, who have to face a sector that is still lacking in frameworks and professionalization, that would ensure stability, as well as give a window of time and space for research and experimentation. Furthermore, struck by the covid-19 pandemic, environmental disasters, and the recent war in Ukraine, it should be made clear that not only should the professional terms be re-negotiated, but also care and sustainability to their lives and careers should become of primary importance.

This is the second article of a series of three that I wrote for DutchCulture, during my research traineeship with them. Check it all out on their website!

Living together in precarious times: the role of artist residencies

Rather than acting just as cv embellishers and feel-good providers, artist residencies can be places where care and sustainability is applied in practice.

Festival organisers, architects, designers, freelance producers and circus artists who have travelled and lived the nomad circus life were all invited to Tilburg, Netherlands, for the first edition of Spark, a cross-sectorical programme by Circostrada, with an aim to produce a concrete action plan. Representing different cultural backgrounds and practices, it seemed necessary to involve all these practices, given that circus and especially travelling circus is still one of the kinds of performing arts, facing plenty of ambiguities and unresolved issues. The inconsitency of regulations and standards, the financial insecurities, and the environmental impact of travelling with tents were some of the most important issues that were discussed and brought to the table, while the need to look for innovative ideas and policies was highlighted. Through walks in various locations in Tilburg, the participants were invited to discuss the innate characteristics of circus that could prove fundamental in designing its environmental and ecological sustainability and future, where ''Circus could show the way''.

Check out more, on the blog of Circostrada!

The big tops: Where to move next?

Why would circus need to be (more) sustainable? What would the circus tent of the future look like? What are the values of contemporary circus and how do they influence its impact?

Elefsina is located 21 kms away from Athens, the capital of Greece: it is a city of contradictions, a city of many faces, and a city of many layers, which cannot easily be discovered at a glance. On the one hand, one of the 5 most important Greek cities of antiquity, rich in heritage and ancient history. On the other hand, a modern city that was heavily industrialized in the 60s and 70s, and a home to a shipyard, essentially a place where destroyed and polluted ships are brought to 'die'. These hidden layers constitute the foundation upon which the participants of the workshop, artists in the public space, architects, programmers, researchers and academics coming from all corners of Europe, were invited to collectively reflect on the topic of 'placemaking in the performing arts'. In a few words, placemaking can mean giving signification to a place, by involving all the stakeholders to that place, human and non-human. Going on long walks through time and space, engaging in workshops, presentations, and an actual placemaking example, the participants were welcome to express their viewpoints and concerns, and to consider the future of placemaking in the performing arts by evaluating the sustainability of this specific example taking it to a larger scale, as well as the dangers and potential first steps to its development.

Dive in the topic on the blog of Circostrada!

How to change a place without changing it

A long walk through time, to trace the many hidden layers of the city of Elefsina was the foundation for the second edition of SPARK that took place from 14th to 18th of June, 2023, at the 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture The topic? What placemaking in the performing arts is, what it entails, and how can all the stakeholders of a place be involved.

An Uneven Playground