Galway Community Circus (GCC) and UK circus company Extraordinary Bodies will present ‘Take Up Space,’ a relaxed performance on Sunday, 22 February 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 Toy Show Appeal 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.
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.
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.
All are welcome to attend this family-friendly performance celebrating creativity, collaboration and circus. Tickets are €10 for adults and €5 for children, and can be booked here.