THE MOVING STATE OF CIRCUS
about the conference
19 - 20 October 2023
The Australian Circus Summit is a global event that invites delegates to converge into NICA’s purpose-built circus venue for a two-day melting pot of conversations that will challenge and inspire current industry views revolving around the theme of The Moving State of Circus.
Embark on an unprecedented journey as the heart of the circus world hosts a ground breaking event at NICA, leading the industry discourse. This event challenges the notion of Circus as a 'lesser relative' in performing arts, aiming to unite the sector by bridging gaps between artists, presenters, producers, funders, and supporters. Through innovative collaborations and connections, we'll explore novel ways to integrate circus performances into venues and expand artistic horizons. Join us in crafting compelling partnerships, cultivating relationships, and shaping the future of circus engagement for artists and audiences alike.
This will be an intimate event with a capacity of 200, bringing independent circus artists, producers, festival programmers, venue presenters, and the NICA community together in one room to dissolve industry barriers and facilitate networking.
download programDigital Tickets available now
This event will be live streamed
The 2023 Australian Circus Summit will be live streamed thanks to the Australian Digital Concert Hall.
Be a part of the discussion from anywhere across the globe.
Keynote Speakers
A stellar lineup of speakers stands ready to infuse the circus summit with fresh inspiration, capable of reshaping the art's core. Drawing from unique experiences, they'll unveil circus's limitless potential, pushing its boundaries and opening paths to uncharted territories. By sharing top industry practices, they'll offer actionable insights, inviting us to harness circus's transformative power in unprecedented ways. Prepare for a journey of discovery as these dynamic voices redefine the future and illuminate unexplored horizons.
Darcy Grant
Artistic Director
Gravity & Other Myths
Anna Robb
Executive Producer
Our Legacy Creations
Featured speakers
Immerse yourself in the wisdom and ingenuity of visionary speakers spanning generations and art forms.
Malia Walsh (The MC)
Artistic Director
Circus Trick Tease
Kahuraki Marino Aroha Bronsson-George
Cultural Advisor
Circability
Stacy Clark
CEO
Circus Talk
Simon Abrahams
CEO & Creative Director
Melbourne Fringe Festival
Katherine Connor
Executive Director
PAC Australia
Mary Chackola
National Engagement Manager
Philanthropy Australia
Nic Clark
Director
Nicholas Clark Management
Steph Cox
Executive Director
Women's Circus
Shaun Comerford
Executive Director
CIRCA Contemporary Circus
Monica Davidson
Director
Creative Plus Business
Elena Kirschbaum
Artistic Director & Co-Director
Highwire Entertainment & Gluttony
Steven Richardson
Manager, Development and Partnerships
Creative Australia
Dr Kathy Yu
Sports Doctor
National Institute of Circus Arts
Thomas Gorham
Co-Director
Head First Acrobats
Nicci Wilks
Freelance Artist
Circus Oz
Natano Fa'anana
Co-Founder, Creative Director
Casus Creations
Pippin Remi
Senior Manager, Creative Learning
Regional Arts Victoria
Laura Colby
President
Elsie Management (USA)
Aaron Marquise
Coordinator for the International Market of Contemporary Circus (MICC)
TOHU, Montréal.
Sherene Stewart
Festival Co-Lead / Creative Lead
YIRRAMBOI
Dylan Singh
Independent Artist
Kate Fell
Artistic Director
Darwin Festival
Antonella Casella
Course Convenor in Circus History, Culture and Representation
National Institute of Circus Arts
Emily Wells
Executive Producer
YIRRAMBOI Festival
Rockie Stone
Theatre Maker, Rigger, Set Designer, Production Manager
Tiny Good
Director
Showtech Australia
Jay Withee
Head of Services & Support
TAIT - Asia
Chelsea Donoghue
Solicitor
Sanicki Lawyers
Darren Sanicki
Principal & Founder
Sanicki Lawyers
Katherine Giles
Head of Legal and Operations
Arts Law Australia
Andrea Ousley
Community and social circus trainer, workshop facilitator, circus director
National Institute of Circus Arts
Jill Maglio
Director
Holistic Circus Therapy and Circus Aid
Nicole Beyer
Executive Director
Theatre Network Australia
Thomas Hinz
Creative Director
Circability
Jim Rimmer
Head of Programs
Arts Wellbeing Collective
Dr David Munro
Head Physiotherapist
National Institute of Circus Arts
Simona Jobbagy
Director
National Institute of Circus Arts
Hendrik Frobel
CEO
Chamäleon Berlin
Edwina Lunn
Executive Producer
RISING
Katy Warner
Creative Producer
Arts Centre Melbourne
Dylan Cole
Head of Venue Planning
Arts Centre Melbourne
Heidi Irvine
Head of Programming
Frankston Arts Centre
Fergus Linehan
CEO
Carriageworks
Michelle Bingham
Acting Venue Coordinator and Venue Operations Leader
The Drum Theatre
Gideon Obarzanek
Co-Artistic Director and Co-CEO
RISING
Anni Davey
Artistic Director
Flying Fruit Fly Circus
Stephen Henderson
Coordinator Creative Spaces
Bendigo Venues
Sarah Platts
Lighting Designer, Production and Stage Manager
Patrick McCarthy
Executive Director
Victorian Association of Performing Arts Centres
Kate Malone
Executive Producer
Cluster Arts
Jono Perry
Executive Director, Curatorial
QPAC
Anke Politz
Artistic Director
Chamäleon Berlin
Mark Sinclair
Director, Engagement
Committee for Melbourne
Suzanne Daley
Director of Philanthropy
Arts Centre Melbourne
Alice Cadwell
General Manager
Spaghetti Circus
Harlow Carey
Co-Founder
Gravity Dolls
The Program
Day One: Thursday 19 October
8.15am—9am: Registration & Coffee
Session 1: 9am—10.30am
Welcome Address: NICA Director, Simona Jobbagy
Opening Keynote Address: Darcy Grant (Gravity & Other Myths)
Catered Morning Tea & Networking | 10.30am—11am
Session 2: 11am—12pm
Panel: The Mechanisms of Engagement
Session Takeaways:
- A well informed understanding of current audience trends.
- Insights into successful techniques applied to other artforms
Speakers: Anni Davey (Flying Fruit Fly Circus), Katherine Connor (PAC Australia), Elena Kirschbaum (Highwire Entertainment, Gluttony) Facilitator: Nicole Beyer (Theatre Network Australia)
Catered Lunch & Networking | 12pm—1pm
Sessions 3-5: 1pm—1:50
BREAK OUT SESSIONS | choose one of three
Panel: There’s Laws for That
Session Takeaways:
- An understanding of personal and legal rights when working on productions.
- Knowledge of how to seek out resources on legal matters, and who to approach if needed.
Speakers: Darren Sanicki (Sanicki Lawyers) & Chelsea Donoghue (Sanicki Lawyers), Katherine Giles (Arts Law Australia) Facilitator: Nic Clark (Nicholas Clark Management)
Panel: Social Circus for Social Change
Session Takeaways:
- Insight into positionality of the social circus landscape.
- Fundamental knowledge on access that can be applied to projects and venues.
Speakers: Thomas Hinz (Circability NZ), Jill Maglio (Circus Aid), Andrea Ousley (NICA) Facilitator: Alice Cadwell (Spaghetti Circus)
Panel: A wealth of health
Session Takeaways:
- What we can do to change the sector to create a future to support
- Holistic models for prevention and care
Speakers: Dr Kathy Yu (NICA), Dr David Munro (NICA), Jim Rimmer (Arts Wellbeing Collective) Facilitator: Steph Cox (Women’s Circus)
Session 6: 2pm—3pm
Presentation: Presenter Pitches Venues
Session Takeaways:
- An understanding of the venues, their programming habits, the audiences they service, giving everyone a robust knowledge of what level of circus they engage with and how artists can engage with them in return.
Speakers: Dylan Cole (Arts Centre Melbourne), Katy Warner (Arts Centre Melbourne), Stephen Henderson (Bendigo Venues), Jono Perry (QPAC), Fergus Linehan (Carriageworks), Anke Politz (Chamäleon Berlin) Facilitator: Patrick McCarthy (Victorian Association of Performing Arts Centres)
Catered Afternoon Tea & Networking | 3pm—3.30pm
Session 7: 3.30pm— 4.20pm
Presentation: Commercial Adaptability
Session Takeaways:
- An intimate insight into a world renowned circus company straight from the source, with a practical assessment of their adaptability in the landscape of entertainment.
- Inspiration and motivation to think differently about the form of circus.
Speakers: Shaun Comerford (CIRCA) & Anke Politz (Chamäleon Berlin) & Hendrik Frobel (Chamäleon Berlin) Facilitator: Malia Walsh (Circus Trick Tease)
Session 8: 4.30pm— 5pm
Presentation: Day One Wrap Up
5pm-6:15pm Drinks | Gathering & Networking
The Program
Day Two: Friday 20 October
8.30am — 9am: Registration & Coffee
Session 1: 9am — 10am
Panel: The Role of Circus within the broader Performing Arts
Session Takeaways:
- An enhanced understanding of how circus relates to other artforms and identifying unique attributes within the ecology.
Speakers: Antonella Casella (NICA), Kate Malone (Cluster Arts), Pippin Remi (Regional Arts Victoria) Facilitator: Stacy Clark (Circus Talk)
Catered Morning Tea & Networking 10am — 10:30am
Session 2: 10.30am — 11.25am
Presentation: Presenter Pitches (Festivals)
Session Takeaways:
- An understanding of the festivals, their programming habits, the audience they service, giving everyone a robust knowledge of their festival and how artists can engage with them in return.
Speakers: Kate Fell (Darwin Festival), Gideon Obarzanek (RISING), Emily Wells (YIRRAMBOI), Aaron Marquise (MICC, Montreal) Facilitator: Heidi Irvine (Frankston Arts Centre)
Session 3: 11.30am — 12.30pm
Panel: Run Like You Stole Something
Session Takeaways:
- The business of understanding your practice, venue and artists, why are you programming something, making something and what’s the SMART business plan.
Speakers: Stacy Clark (Circus Talk), Monica Davidson (Creative Plus Business), Laura Colby (Elsie Management), Shaun Comerford (CIRCA) Facilitator: Edwina Lunn (RISING)
Catered Lunch & Networking 12:30pm — 1pm
Sessions 4-6: 1pm — 1.50pm
BREAK OUT SESSIONS (pick one of three)
Panel: The Culture of Creativity
Session Takeaways:
- Cultural storytelling: a conversation about how culture influences the creative process.
Speaker: Kahuraki Marino Aroha Bronsson-George (Circability NZ), Sherene Stewart (YIRRAMBOI), Dylan Singh (Independent Artist) Facilitator: Natano Fa’anana (Casus Creations)
Panel: Putting the Fun(d) in Fundraising
Session Takeaways:
- An introduction to potential fundraising streams, and how to approach them.
- Correct language and dialogue to create meaningful ongoing connections.
Speakers: Steven Richardson (Creative Australia), Mary Chackola (Philanthropy Australia), Suzanne Daley (Arts Centre Melbourne) Facilitator: Mark Sinclair (Committee for Melbourne)
Panel: It’s all rigged: How to anchor the industry
Session Takeaways:
- The roadmap of how to do it and who to bring in to make it happen.
- Tangible knowledge on enabling the ability to rig aerial performance confidently within venues.
- Facilitate dialogue between venues, riggers, artist and discuss possibilities and compromises.
Speakers: Jay Withee, (TAIT Hong Kong), Tiny Good (Showtech Australia), Rockie Stone (Independent), Sarah Platts (Independent) Facilitator: Michelle Bingham (The Drum Theatre)
Session 7: 2pm — 3pm
Panel: Getting on with it
Session Takeaways:
- How can venues, festivals and producers assist the independent artists and the companies they run and ideas / actions we can take to future proof the industry.
Speakers: Nicci Wilks (Independent, Circus Oz), Tom Gorham (Independent, Head First Acrobats), Harlow Carey (Independent, Gravity Dolls) Facilitator: Simon Abrahams (Melbourne Fringe)
Catered Afternoon Tea & Networking 3pm — 3:30pm
Session 8: 3.30pm — 4.20pm
Closing Keynote Presentation: A Big Top of an Idea
Session Takeaways:
- How do you create a show, where do you begin and who do you invite in to collaborate with.
Speaker: Anna Robb (Our Legacy Creations) Facilitator: Malia Walsh (Circus Trick Tease)
Session 9: 4.30pm — 5pm
Presentation: Wrap Up
5pm — 6:15pm | Drinks | Gathering & Networking
FAQs
Here are some quick answers to frequent questions.
Extra questions? Please contact: represents@nica.com.au
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project is proudly supported by:
