On Circus On Circus

The New Horizons Leadership Programme is a Baltic-Nordic collaboration with European dimension which is led by Cirkus Syd (SE), Rigas Cirks (LV), and DYNAMO (DK).

The vision for NHLP-EU is to strengthen the position of the circus field in Europe by supporting future leaders to acquire and develop skills and competencies for strong leadership. The program responds to a strong demand for the development of cultural managers, producers and artistic as well as executive directors as strong leaders. It brings together 10 visionary fellows and 10 experts as well as the wider open cultural field open to all, to engage in exchanges and events related to leadership.



The 10-month programme of events includes two national-level live forums, 10 digital online seminars, as well as 3-week transnational shadow experiences and peer learning. The programme is open to emergent leaders in the circus sector, based in a Nordic, Baltic, or European country. 



In each New Horizons Podcast episode you will hear 3 of the fellows discussing one theme of the digital events. The topic for this episode is MOTIVATION, and is hosted by fellows Hazel Lam, Hedda Liukkala and Elise Missall

The New Horizons Leadership Programme is a Baltic-Nordic collaboration with European dimension which is led by Cirkus Syd (SE), Rigas Cirks (LV), and DYNAMO (DK).



The vision for NHLP-EU is to strengthen the position of the circus field in Europe by supporting future leaders to acquire and develop skills and competencies for strong leadership. The program responds to a strong demand for the development of cultural managers, producers and artistic as well as executive directors as strong leaders. It brings together 10 visionary fellows and 10 experts as well as the wider open cultural field open to all, to engage in exchanges and events related to leadership.



The 10-month programme of events includes two national-level live forums, 10 digital online seminars, as well as 3-week transnational shadow experiences and peer learning. The programme is open to emergent leaders in the circus sector, based in a Nordic, Baltic, or European country. 



In each New Horizons Podcast episode you will hear 3 of the fellows discussing one theme of the digital events. The topic for this episode is RESPONSIBILITY and is hosted by fellows Armas Lintusaari, Gaia Vimercati and Georgina Cassels. The discussion addresses the concept, meanings, and ramifications of responsibility, from the perspectives of artistic creation and managerial leadership in the arts. 

The New Horizons Leadership Programme is a Baltic-Nordic collaboration with European dimension which is led by Cirkus Syd (SE), Rigas Cirks (LV), and DYNAMO (DK). (Jakob)



The vision for NHLP-EU is to strengthen the position of the circus field in Europe by supporting future leaders to acquire and develop skills and competencies for strong leadership. The program responds to a strong demand for the development of cultural managers, producers and artistic as well as executive directors as strong leaders. It brings together 10 visionary fellows and 10 experts as well as the wider open cultural field open to all, to engage in exchanges and events related to leadership.



The 10-month programme of events includes two national-level live forums, 10 digital online seminars, as well as 3-week transnational shadow experiences and peer learning. The programme is open to emergent leaders in the circus sector, based in a Nordic, Baltic, or European country.



In each New Horizons Podcast you will hear 3 of the fellows discussing one theme of the digital events, today's topic is Accessibility.



The second episode is hosted by fellows Armas Lintusaari (FI), Hedda Liukkala (FI) and Jakob Jacobsson (SE/NL). The discussion addresses accessibility with respect to educational structures, as well as the potential risk of excluding some segrments of the audience, as circus becomes increasingly academic and treated from within as a prestige art form.



The fellows share individual methods and strategies they have applied in their own productions, to increase accessibility for the audience, and address the relationship with the presenters/venues as a nodal point in communicating a performance correctly and reaching out to a diverse audience.



This project is Co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union

Welcome to the first New Horizons podcast episode, on the theme Empathy.

The New Horizons Leadership Programme is a Baltic-Nordic collaboration with European dimension which is led by Cirkus Syd (SE), Rigas Cirks (LV), and DYNAMO (DK).

The vision for NHLP-EU is to strengthen the position of the circus field in Europe by supporting future leaders to acquire and develop skills and competencies for strong leadership. The program responds to a strong demand for the development of cultural managers, producers and artistic as well as executive directors as strong leaders. It brings together 10 visionary fellows and 10 experts as well as the wider open cultural field open to all, to engage in exchanges and events related to leadership.

The 10-month programme of events includes two national-level live forums, 10 digital online seminars, as well as 3-week transnational shadow experiences and peer learning. The programme is open to emergent leaders in the circus sector, based in a Nordic, Baltic, or European country. 

In each New Horizons Podcast episode you will hear 3 of the fellows discussing one theme of the digital events. The topic for this first episode is EMPATHY. 

In the first episode, fellows Elise Missall (IE/DE), Gaia Vimercati (IT) and Sophie Zoletnik (HU) pick up the conversation launched in the Digital Event on the theme of Empathy. 

They discuss empathy as a resource for cultural managers to understand their teams and create safer work environments, as well as the drawbacks of empathy and setting healthy boundaries. 

Empathy is discussed in relation to hierarchy and different cultural settings that decision making in organisations, particularly in grassroots projects. Too, recent changes to work models bring up the topic of empathy in remote contexts and staying connected despite physical distance

This project is Co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union

During this episode, we will talk to Harm van der Laan (1987) co-artistic director of Tall Tales Company, creating shows on the border of circus and physical theatre. In addition to his artistic activities, Harm teaches circus history at Codarts Rotterdam and runs the Tall Tales Studio, an open training space for circus artists in Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Harm van der Laan will be performing a Tall Tales performance Square2.1 at The Southern Sweden Circus Festival kick-off from the 7th to the 10th of September, 2023. Come join us and experience something you never imagined possible at the Southern Sweden Circus Festival launch celebrations. Witness bold and beautiful work by some of the greatest circus artists and companies in Europe playing over 4 days across Malmö and Lund as we give you a taste of what to expect next year.

This podcast is brought to you by Cirkus Syd, a networking platform for international research, development, and innovation.



This podcast has been made possible thanks to the support of Kulturrådet, Lunds kommun, City of Lund, and Swedish Arts Council.

During this episode, we will talk to Henrik Agger & Louise Bjurholm von Euler about the development of circus in Sweden, juggling family and art, and aging within circus. The acrobatic duo has been working together since 2001. In their creations, Henrik and Louise look beyond the physical actions alone and try to use other elements of their practice as inspirational work for finding new material. They also like to use other media such as film and texts as complements to the physical work.

Henrik & Louise will be performing at The New Horizons  Leadership Summit in Lund, Sweden from the 1st to the 3rd of December,  2022. Centered around the role of circus as a leader on the frontier of cultural change and innovation, the summit seeks to bring together a  regional and international community of thinkers and doers shaping our collective future.

This podcast is brought to you by Cirkus Syd, a networking platform for international research, development, and innovation.

This episode has been made possible with the generous support of Arts Council Sweden / Kulturrådet.