Galway Community Circus (GCC) and UK circus company Extraordinary Bodies will present ‘Take Up Space,’ a relaxed performance next weekend.
This performance showcasing the accessibility of the circus for everyone will take place on Sunday, February 22 at 2:30pm at St Joseph’s Community Centre, Shantalla, H91 VX0P.
This informal performance is part of ‘Circus is for Every Body’, a project making circus participation and performance more accessible for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent young people in Galway.
The performance will feature young people from Enable Ireland, Galway Autism Partnership and Scoil Chaitríona performing alongside professional disabled and non-disabled Irish and international circus artists.
Funded by the Rethink Ireland Disability and Participation Awareness Fund, the RTÉ To Show Appeal, Arts Council Ireland and Galway City Council, the project has been delivering weekly circus workshops since October, giving many young participants their first experience of circus.
Young people from Enable Ireland and Galway Autism Partnership have been learning new physical and creative skills, building confidence and working together to create a performance with Galway Community Circus trainers and artists from Extraordinary Bodies.
More recently, additional workshops began with students from Scoil Chaitríona, expanding the project’s reach. At the same time, Galway Community Circus staff have undertaken inclusion training to strengthen accessible and inclusive practice across the organisation.
“It is always a pleasure to work with such brave, creative and resilient young people. As circus trainers, we get to witness their ‘magic moments’ during workshops, as they learn new skills and face fears,” said Lisa O’Farrell, circus trainer at Galway Community Circus.
“The performance will offer these young people a chance to take up space and show their new skills to a wider audience – a little glimpse into the magic! We are all very excited.”
D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people are often excluded from arts activities, and disabled artists remain underrepresented in circus arts in Ireland. This can limit who feels that circus, or any artform, is for them.
‘Circus is for Every Body’ aims to change that by creating welcoming spaces where young people can take creative risks, develop their abilities and see disabled artists represented on stage.
“Our vision at Galway Community Circus is a future in which play, care and creativity are accessible to every child in Ireland,” said Becca Clayton, Chief Operating Officer at Galway Community Circus.
“While circus is naturally a very inclusive art form, we are very aware that there are children and young people who are not currently taking part or are underrepresented in circus activities, and this needs to change.”
“Circus is for Every Body is an important step in our long-term commitment to making circus truly accessible to all young people, regardless of ability, disability or background.”
A key partner in the project is UK-based circus company Extraordinary Bodies, whose work features D/deaf, disabled and non-disabled artists performing together.
Through two residencies in Galway, artists and staff with lived experience from the company have supported young participants in shaping creative performance work and have shared their expertise with GCC trainers, helping to open up circus participation to young people who have traditionally faced barriers to taking part.
The February performance will share what the young people have created together while challenging perceptions about who can take part in circus, both on stage and behind the scenes.
The wider aim of ‘Circus is for Every Body’ is to expand access to circus for disabled young people, increase the visibility of disabled artists and share inclusive practice more widely across the arts sector. A documentary film on the project will be released at a later date.
