Call for expressions of interest for Round 2 of our circus research commission New Authors.
Delivered in collaboration with Cirkus Syd, Crying Out Loud, Jacksons Lane, Lakeside Arts, Out There Arts, Take Art, The Lowry and Worthing Theatres and Museum.
New Authors commission is a joined up effort to support the making and touring of circus work across the UK and internationally. As a partnership of 9 venues and producing organisations, we aim to back early ideas, take risks and offer a support network, enabling brilliant work to flourish when it otherwise might not.
Apply now for a £2,000 circus residency commission with space in kind, producer time and the opportunity to pitch your project for further support at Circus City festival. Deadline 27 June 2025.
We want to support UK circus creators to develop innovative artistic practice and their unique voice as makers of live performance. We recognise that focussed and paid physical research and development time and opportunities to try out new collaborations or processes in a supported environment, are key to allowing this work to take shape.
For this round we are looking to support projects with adaptability and interdisciplinarity at their core, reflective of the diverse platform partners we have on board and the desire to meet audiences where they are. This means we are looking for ideas that could work in community halls and rural touring venues as well as studio theatres and unusual, unexpected sites.
The New Authors commission has two stages, micro commission and main commission. This initial micro commission stage will award three artists or companies with a £2,000 residency fee to develop, share and pitch their concepts to partners at Circus City 2025.
Following the pitches, one artist will be chosen to progress to the second stage with a final commission that includes £6,000 seed funding and producer support to develop their project in 2026 with priority given to programming the finished work at the partner venues and platforms in 2027.
How it works:
Stage 1: Micro Commissions x 3
We are looking for three exciting projects that would benefit from a small focused injection of physical development time with the opportunity to present findings and proposals for further development to a panel of peers, industry and potential partners in October 2025.
The Micro Commissions aim to support immediate studio research and development through:
- £2,000 to undertake and share research
- 5 days studio space in kind from one of a network of partners
- 3 hours of producer support
- Travel and accommodation to Bristol for presentations at Circus City festival
Stage 2: Main Commission x 1
From the three artists awarded a micro commission, one will be chosen by the panel to receive the main commission, which will include:
- One £6,000 seed funding
- 20 days space in kind from partners
- £2,500 producer support from Circus City and mentoring from partners
- Provisional programming for the finished work in 2027 or work in progress in 2026
Timeline
- EOI Application Opens 20th May 2025
- EOI Closes 9am 27th June 2025
- Applicants shortlisted for next stage notified 2 July 2025
- Online pitches and Q&As with artists w/c 14th July 2025
- Successful applicants notified 18th July 2025
- Residencies completed any time before the 4th October 2025
- Presentations and discussions with panel 10th October 2025
You can read about the artists and projects selected in 2023 for round 1 here
Read the Full Call-Out and Application Guidance
Images: Paul Blakemore
