Activités

Twice a year, General Meetings are held so that members can exchange ideas, develop projects and discuss the network’s strategic direction.  

They are organised in the frame of cultural events or festivals organised by members and create an opportunity to meet professionals from various regions in Europe, discover artistic programming and the work of local artists, explore potential collaborations and gain a better understanding of the host country’s cultural context

Flagship events of the network, “FRESH CIRCUS” and “FRESH STREET” are international seminars that aim to improve the development and recognition of circus and street arts in Europe and across the world.

The FRESH seminars are organised every year and are unmissable events that bring together the entire profession, including programmers, artists, producers, policy makers, trainers, researchers and journalists. 

These seminars bring together people who take part in and help develop contemporary circus and street arts, and who are looking to contribute to this exchange platform and collectively explore new areas and topics. Following these seminars, concrete proposals are made and featured in a dedicated online publication.

As part of its new 2014-2017 strategy, Circostrada has created 3 pilot programmes led by Work Groups. They share a common goal to work on issues that are key to the development of circus and street arts.

CSLab: an experimentation and capacity-building project to work on the evolution of our development models and practices.

CSHubble: an observation programme that aims to shed light on the key players in the circus and street arts world.

CSAudience: A programme combining worshops and research, that aims to build a better understanding and raise awareness of the challenges and initiatives surrounding our relationships with audiences.

In a new format introduced by Circostrada, “Focus” meetings set out to break new ground by comparing our practices with approaches taken from other sectors and disciplines. Focus Meetings bring together professionals from various fields with the aim of stimulating collaboration and new ideas in order to help our sectors evolve in a constantly changing world.
The meetings are based on a desire to capitalise on the expertise of the network’s members and explore cross-sectorial issues affecting our practices.
Focus Meetings are held two to three times a year in conjunction with events organised by members of the network and are open to all professionals. Discussions are available in a short publication that can be found on the website.

Circostrada has been organising two types of seminars since 2011: “Policies and Strategies for Circus Arts” to develop public policies that promote circus arts, and “Circus Arts in the European Capitals of Culture”, which promotes better integration of this discipline in the events.

A Work Group has been dedicated specifically to advocacy since 2014. It especially works to include policy makers in the Fresh seminars and to organise Advocacy seminars combining the two former seminars and including street arts. The first will be held in 2015-2016.

Circostrada develops key actions with training partners.

In the street arts field, dedicated seminars called “Street Arts Winter Academy” have been held since 2011. This has led to the creation of a European Federation of Education and Training in Street Arts, with which Circostrada works actively.

In the circus field, Circostrada has been organising annual meetings with members of the FEDEC (European Federation of Professional Circus Schools) since 2011. In 2014, Circostrada intensified this partnership,  with the FEDEC participating in various Work Groups within the network.

Training is also covered in each “FRESH” seminar.

Each year, a study programme is organised for members in a country outside Europe so that they get to know new markets, develop collaborative opportunities, and exchange knowledge and skills.

These programmes provide a basis for members to meet local stakeholders, discover artistic programming and take part in exchanges and idea-sharing workshops.

Since 2014, in addition to these trips, a foreign delegation is hosted once a year within the network to enable all members to take advantage of these exchanges.