Project & Open Call
Organised by 8 partner organisations and co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, CIRCUS WITHOUT CIRCUS is an interdisciplinary research project for artists from the circus field and from all other artistic fields such as music, film, dance, theatre, design, architecture, visual arts, etc.
16 individual European artists, 8 from the circus field and 8 from other artistic fields, will be selected for a residency programme aimed at sparking artistic exchange between disciplines by facilitating one-on-one research residencies.
The overall aim is to facilitate cross-boundary research and to develop and explore cross-disciplinary working methods. As a participant you are invited to step out of your comfort zone, let go of habits, give up control, and open up your artistic process in the encounter with another artist.
Artists who are at the beginning of their career or changing direction in their career can apply. Artists will be paired as duos – 1 artist from the circus field with 1 artist from another field. Each participant will take part in two residencies between spring 2021 and summer 2023. The residencies will be hosted by the project partners, taking place in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark and France.
The pairing of artists will be made by the project partners. As an artist you will therefore not know beforehand who you will get to work with – only that it will be an artist from a different artistic field than your own. Artists from all art forms are equally encouraged to apply.
The selected duos will benefit from a residency programme and an accompanying support programme.
Residency programme
Each selected artist will take part in two 12-day residencies, each residency with a new artist from another field. One part of the duo will always be a circus artist. You will be working on equal terms. The duo will work together focusing on the process of cross-disciplinary collaboration through exchanging, sharing, experimenting and researching.
There are no expectations of a specific artistic outcome. The primary goal of the residency is to enrich and broaden the artistic practice of the participating artists and through this to create inspiration for the wider performing arts field. You will be asked to document and share your research at a public presentation.
The residencies will be hosted by the project partners and will thus take place in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark and France between summer 2021 and spring 2023.
Support programme
The support programme will facilitate relevant encounters with professionals from the performing arts field during the residency. The programme will be designed specifically for each residency and may include artistic mentorship, feedback sessions, meetings and networking. These sessions are aimed at developing and inspiring the artists and at enabling them to pursue a sustainable, international career.
Documentation and sharing
CIRCUS WITHOUT CIRCUS is a research project, whose experiments and findings are intended to benefit the broader performing arts field. If you are selected, we therefore expect you to be open for collaboration, experimentation and sharing, both with the artists you are paired with, and with the mentors/facilitators you meet as part of the support programme, as well as with the general public and professionals.
As part of this research project, an online portal will be created with documentation, interviews, tools and best practices developed during the residencies by the participating artists and the project partners. You will also need to commit to sharing your research after the residency at a public presentation, which can be in any suitable format for your work – talk, performance, photos, video, etc.
This programme is for you if:
- You are an artist in the beginning of your career, but not currently studying – or if you are in the process of changing direction in your career.
- You live and/or primarily work in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark or France.
- You are min. 18 years old.
- You are open-minded, curious and eager to work and experiment in an interdisciplinary way.
- You speak and understand English well. English is the working language.
- You are applying as an individual artist. Duos or groups will not be taken into consideration.
Commitment
The project takes place 2021-2023 with the first round of residencies April-September 2021 and the second round of residencies June 2022-April 2023. The public presentations will take place immediately at the end of your residency period and/or at another time with one of the other residency hosts.
As a participant, you are committing yourself to being part of the project for the whole two-year period with activities including two residencies, public presentation(s), knowledge sharing, etc.
Conditions
- The project will cover travel expenses, accommodation and food (travel by train is encouraged).
- You will receive a fee of €170 brutto per working day during the residencies.
- The project provides a working space, support programme, and technical support.
How to apply
If this way of working resonates with and inspires you, and you live up to the formal criteria, we will be thrilled to receive your application.
A mandatory registration form can be downloaded below.
Additionally, we ask you to send us your CV as well as links to photos/videos of your previous work (max 10 photos & 4 videos).
When filling out the application form, we ask you to mark all the periods you are available. Your flexibility is necessary for the project partners to be able to form the most relevant duo combinations.
All material (registration form, CV and photo/video links) should be sent in one mail to: info@circuswithoutcircus.eu
Application deadline: 3 December 2020
We strive to let all applicants know about the decision before 15 January 2021. We will do pre-interviews with relevant candidates via Zoom.
If you have any questions regarding the programme and application process, please contact the partner in your country:
- Belgium: Circuscentrum – contact Maarten Verhelst, maarten@circuscentrum.be
- Croatia: Room 100 – contact Antonia Kuzmanić, peculiarfamilies@gmail.com
- Denmark: Metropolis – Københavns Internationale Teater – contact Louise Kaare Jacobsen, lkj@kit.dk
- France: Le Manège de Reims – contact Bruno Lobé, b.lobe@manege-reims.eu, and Nina Vandenberghe, n.vandenberghe@manege-reims.eu