Circus City are happy to announce that we have been selected to lead one of Bristol City Council’s Artist Conversations projects. This means that over the next two months we will be working to ensure that the experiences, needs and interests of the circus arts community are considered in the shaping of Bristol City Council’s new cultural strategy.
To do this we will be updating what we know about the experiences of circus professionals living or with a base in Bristol, through interviews, in person conversations and a new edition of the Bristol circus census. At the same time we will be developing an online resource and directory that will allow us all to better advocate for Bristol’s circus industry, history, culture and community.
The project will culminate in a gathering for Bristol’s circus professionals on the 13th June at Circomedia, Portland Square. Threaded through with networking, lunch and opportunities to experience and feed into some brand new performance by Bristol based artists, this event will include a first look at the circus directory and sessions to discuss and dig into the findings of the circus census, in order to refine our response to Bristol City Council.
We have shaped these actions in response to the results of the 2024 circus census, through which we heard from 100 Bristol circus professionals. For this project, we hope that you will again support us by sharing your work and experiences, so that we can ensure that future projects locally and nationally consider the needs of this community.
How you can get involved:
- Record your response to the Bristol Circus Census 2026 and share it (Survey Link)
- Book your free place at the Bristol-made Circus Gathering – Saturday 13th June (10 x £50 bursaries available for low income freelancers on a lottery basis). (Headfirst link)
- Send us news about your work – a new creation in the making or a production ready to tour that we can include in the directory (Form Link) this is also where you can let us know if you’d be interested in presenting a WIP excerpt on the 13th June – Expense payments of £100 are available.
Got an idea or feedback? Collaboration is central to this endeavour and we invite all those that would like to chat about the project to drop in to see us for a coffee at Watershed any time between 10-12 on 5th May or 4-6pm 8th May or to email your thoughts to nicole@bristolcircuscity.com
We look forward to hearing from you.
About BCC Cultural Strategy Development
Bristol City Council are developing a new 10year Cultural Strategy to replace the previous strategy that has been in place since 2017. You can see that here: Bristol as a City of Openness, Imagination and Originators (2017).
A cultural strategy is a long-term plan developed by a city or region that sets out a shared vision for culture, including priorities, goals and the role culture should play in people’s lives and the local economy. It guides decision-making around investment, funding opportunities, partnerships and resources, helping identify which areas, communities or sectors need more support and how cultural activity can contribute to wider outcomes like regeneration, health and wellbeing.
Culture in Bristol means different things to different people and in shaping the new strategy the council want to understand individual experiences, what matters to the people of Bristol and what they would like to see in the future. The Artist Conversation projects are intended to specifically find out the needs of artists, creatives, producers and makers and ensure they are included in this new strategy.
Funding has been awarded to organisations working across different sectors to ensure a diverse range of artists’ voices are included. Our Circus City’s Artist Conversation project is a call out to Bristol based circus artists to collectively imagine what’s next for the UK’s home of contemporary circus. Bringing together artists, producers and creatives to celebrate and share their practice and imagine the future.