Led in partnership by Circus City & Take Art with support from Arts Council England, Circus Around and About+ will bring extraordinary indoor and outdoor circus performances directly to the heart of local communities across the South-West from June 2027 to May 2028.

Applications are officially open for this major South West touring initiative – Deadline is 12 noon (UK time) on 19th October 2026

Circus City is thrilled to be a lead partner in CAAA+, supporting the project’s aims across accessibility, inclusivity and artist development, and bringing our circus expertise and knowledge of international touring to the project. We are really excited about building a network for touring circus in the South West, and as a platform partner, we also look forward to bringing some of this work to Bristol.

Here is some more information about the call out & the application process:

Criteria – This is for you if…

• You have a finished 60 minute indoor or 50 minute outdoor circus performance, available for touring June 2027 to May 2028.
• You have a full film of your show.
• You are excited to reach new people with your work and adapt it to different places, including parks, housing estates, community centres, village halls, churches, beaches and schools.

What’s on offer…

• Guaranteed fees in the region of £1,350-£1,500 total per performance day for UK-based companies and 2100€ total per performance day for EU-based companies,including the cost of performance, local and regional travel, subsistence (food etc), rest days and VAT if applicable.
• Home-stay accommodation convenient to touring locations and some meals with local hosts
• Subsidy for additional travel and set transport costs, including international costs.
• Personal access costs to address any barriers touring presents to Disabled performers and touring crew.
• Mentoring and technical and logistical support from the project team.
• A paid, residential artist lab in which we will explore the opportunities and challenges of circus touring in rural and urban community venues
• A bursary of up to £1000-£1500 to adapt your show for community touring, if required.

A few more points to clarify: 

• Circus Around and About + is funded by Arts Council England, so you can’t use CAA+ income as match funding  in an Arts Council Budget. However, to make a tour more viable you could add some extra dates and apply for funding for those, which won’t be part of Circus Around and About. 
• Show length can be slightly more flexible for outdoor pieces, and there’s also the potential to pair your performance with a workshop offering.
• We can accept multiple applications from the same applicant
• We will consider applications that are double bills as long as the artists work/tour together as one entity and the total fee can be split. 

Interested? 

If you’re interested in this opportunity, please read through the artist Pack & FAQ’s before making an application and get in touch if you need further support understanding if this opportunity is right for you and your show. 

How to apply:

Visit the Take Art website where you will find more information & the application form 

• Application Deadline: Noon on 19 October 2026. 
• You will need to have a link to a full recording of your show ready to provide with your application this can be Youtube, Vimeo or Google Drive.

If you have questions, need support with your application, or require an alternative format (such as BSL, audio, or video), please get in touch with Nicole – nicole@bristolcircuscity.com

An inclusive programme: 

We want to create a menu of circus work for our presenters that is representative of the diverse communities of the UK, including those who are underrepresented in rural cultural life. In particular, we’d like to include people from the Global Majority and Deaf and Disabled identifying people. If this feels relevant to your company you will have the opportunity to share this on the application form.

Featured Image: ConTakt by Foley, Image credit – Villa Kuriosum

Bottom left: Simple Cypher – Image Credit: Paul Blakemore. Bottom right: Glass Houses.