open call for professional contemporary circus artists ... - Subtopia

OPEN CALL FOR PROFESSIONAL CONTEMPORARY
CIRCUS ARTISTS WITHIN ALL DISCIPLINES
Juggling the arts: Artistic laboratory at CIRKO Center, Helsinki, Finland,
20th-24th of February 2012
New Nordic Circus Network, NNCN, is arranging its fourth Juggling the arts, an artistic laboratory
for professional Nordic circus artists in February 2012. Two artists from each Nordic country will
be given the opportunity to work for five days with experienced mentors from different
contemporary art fields at CIRKO Center in Helsinki.
This time Juggling the arts will be a wider exploration on contemporary arts. What is
contemporary arts How do different contemporary artists work and think about their work The
lab will concentrate on artistic processes in general, both in circus and in other contemporary art
forms, and the participants will be able to draw inspiration and knowledge into their own work.
Mentors
The mentors will be experienced professional artists from different contemporary art fields. The
main mentor will be Norwegian director Sverre Waage, together with the French director/writer
Jean-Michel Guy. In addition Finnish artists will visit during the week, f.ex circus artists like
acrobat Petri Tuominen (Race Horse Company), magician/video artist Kalle Hakkarainen (WHS),
acrobat/choreographer Ilona Jäntti (Ilmatila) and circus artist Aino Hurri will present their artistic
approaches. Choreographers and other artists will also be invited to the lab.
Application
1. Open call for proposals – application deadline 16 th of December 2011 for professional Nordic
contemporary circus artists or circus oriented performers wishing to participate in the artistic
laboratory with the aim of developing as an artist/performer and creator. The application form can
be ordered from your local NNCN partner organization.
2. Selection
2 artists from Denmark, 2 from Norway, 2 from Sweden and 2 from Finland will be selected.
Applicants will be informed about the results of the selection no later than 21 st of December 2012.
3. Artistic laboratory
The selected artists participate in a five-day artistic laboratory in CIRKO Center, Helsinki, Finland,
20 th -24 th of February 2012. (arrival 19th, departure 25th of February).
Travel, accommodation, meals and transportation costs will be covered by Juggling the Arts.
Cirko (association founded in 2002) is Finland’s first and only fully dedicated contemporary circus
center. Charged with the task of developing Finnish circus as an art form, they host and support
public performances, festivals as well as circus companies making a vibrant contribution to the
cultural life of Helsinki. CIRKO’s festival, performance, residency and rehearsal activities help to
support and develop the work of circus professionals and supplement the excellent working
environment provided by the CIRKO Center.

The newly opened, converted warehouse space of the CIRKO Center in Suvilahti hosts the offices
of several contemporary circus companies and also the Finnish Youth Circus Association. The
Finnish Circus Information Centre (CIS) also has their office in the premises, providing information
and resource services and access to their reference library and performance video collection.
About Juggling the arts and New Nordic Circus Network
Juggling the arts is organized by New Nordic Circus Network with the support of Kulturkontakt
Nord/Nordic Culture Point.
You can order the JTA application form from your local NNCN partner organization.
Denmark: Copenhagen International Theatre (KIT) – Katrien Verwilt, kv@kit.de
Finland: Cirko Centre for New Circus – Tomi Purovaara, tomi.purovaara@cirko.fi
and Finnish Circus Information Centre – Sari Lakso, sari.lakso@sirkusinfo.fi
Norway: The Circus Village - Sverre Waage, sverre@cirkusxanti.no
Sweden: Subtopia – Kiki Muukkonen, kiki@subtopia.se
The objectives of Juggling the arts are to:
- support artistic research processes within contemporary Nordic circus art.
- offer artistic support to young Nordic circus artists.
- support dialogue and building of connections and networks between Nordic contemporary
circus artists and programmers.
- support the development of creativity and professionalism within the contemporary circus
field.