UP(date) Resource Centre
Mimbre Photo: LIna Johansson
“Getting recommendations in our sector is like searching for a reliable and trustworthy plumber.”
So says Billy Alwen Artistic Director, Cirque Bijou and Co-Artistic Director, Extraordinary Bodies. Between companies, freelancers and venues, we hold an incredible amount of resources and knowledge. But unless you know who to ask, it can be a real challenge to get reliable recommendations and information you can trust. Like asking around to get suggestions for a good plumber, we rely heavily on word of mouth to get reliable advice in our sector.
Do you find yourself signed up to a gazillion dance and physical theatre newsletters and social media feeds in the hope to spot that one job, funding or development opportunity that’s suitable for circus performers?
Where do you look to find a suitable mentor to guide you through the first steps of setting up a company?
How does one even start looking for a producer?
Which venues host circus in the UK?
Where to find suitable and affordable rehearsal space?
A well-run and equipped resource centre might be the solution to all the painful and time-consuming hours of trying to get the quality information you need.
Six members of the circus community gathered together on the morning before Christmas eve - yep, we were that keen to get this up and running! - to dive headfirst into tackling what a reliable and trustworthy resource platform for the circus sector might look like.
We gathered information about previous attempts of sharing resources and information and looked beyond our sector to find models of resource sharing that work.
We dissected what works and what doesn’t and came to these four conclusions:
For sustainability and longevity, a successful model needs to get everyone in the sector involved and behind – sector buy-in is a must
We need to take the conversation out of the room and into our community's heart to identify its most urgent needs in this area
A resource centre works when seen as a place for the sector to come together - a hub for sharing, where everybody is happy to feed in available resources into a central location - something that is bigger than the individuals that make up the community
For such an endeavour to succeed over time, financial support is crucial
We then asked ourselves: A resource centre for the professional circus community:
What is its purpose?
Who is it for?
How do we ensure that the provided advice is verified and has quality?
How and where do we best place this resource?
We started an extensive brainstorm that we will deepen and expand on in our next meeting.
Now is your chance to help shape this exciting new endeavour to bring our sector together.
What would your dream resource centre look like?
What would you like to use it for?
Join in the conversation and share your thoughts - we can’t wait to hear from you!
Come along to our next meeting or email us your thoughts at Tina or Lissy and we will feed your input into the conversation.
Authored by Tina Koch