2023 was a big year of change for Handstand Arts as we moved into a new model of working with a year round team and introduced Nicole A’ Court-Stuart in her new role of Artistic Director, Rhiannon Jones as Executive Director and Thea Woodrow as General Manager. We also welcomed Kate Webb as our new Chair of Trustees. As we look ahead and plan for the future we are investing time and capacity into expanding our work across the city of Bristol and beyond, creating a new vision for our 2025 and 2027 festival and ensuring we are investing in the wider circus sector.
We are super proud of our most recent festival which saw over 3630 people attend events, 531 participants learn something new and get involved with activities delivered across the city. We experimented with new ways of making world class work more accessible and of nurturing new ideas to grow,across a programme presenting 67 artists and commissioning 3 companies to explore and pitch new ideas. If you missed it you can see our festival round up film here.
Backstage Trust’s support will allow us to learn from our work to date, reconnect with existing partners whilst building relationships with new, provide ongoing support and connection for circus artists and the wider sector as a whole. Over the coming months we will be developing and sharing our new strategy and vision for the next 5yrs. If you are interested in working with us or finding out more about what we do – get in touch: hello@bristolcircuscity.com
