As part of the European residency project Unpack the Arts, ten cultural journalists visited Cirko Festival in Helsinki 8-12 May 2013 to encounter (in some cases for the first time) the many faces of contemporary circus. Seeing six shows – Agit-Cirk's Tenho, Magmanus' Attached, Jay Gilligan's Prototype, Gandini Juggling's Smashed, Sanja Kosonen and Elice Abonce Muhonen's Capilotractées, and Circo Aereo's Light Blue and Orange – and interviewing the artists after their performances, the journalists then wrote the articles collected here – published in the original language and in English translation.
Contents
Brecht Hermans, 'The body openly in view'
Igor Buric, 'Cirko Festival 2013: From the Helsinki Trapeze'
Jelena Jindra, 'Sex and Death in Helsinki'
Karin Van de Wiel, 'The Value is in Circus Itself'
Lyndsey Winship, '”Isn't it enough to do the thing?”: The intrinsic value of circus skill'
Maja Mrđenović, '”And now what”: Finnish contemporary circus and its place in cultural policy and the arts'
Nika Arhar, 'How to break through the confines of one's own tradition and look into the (un)known future?'
Nino Kovačič, 'Unpack the Arts'
Sara Van der Kooi, 'Circus Theatre and the Art of Failure'
Sergio Lo Gatto, 'From Totem to Taboo: The Body in Contemporary Circus'