SEMINARS: ROUND TABLES & PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Subcase 2019 made an open call for conversations and dialogues on topics relating to circus. We received many interesting proposals and are now happy to announce the seminars to be presented.

* Round-table: Men too – Let’s talk sexism
”A men-only gathering. Women have worked hard to talk about and put the focus on sexism. Perhaps it’s time for some men to do something? This is a kick-off, an open discussion, a meeting. What can be done? Artists, producers, booking agents, technicians all have different roles enforcing structures. Let’s talk together.”

The initiative for this round-table comes from Love Kjellsson, a musician active within the circus field. He was recently at a big world music conference, where about 90% of the artists on stage were men. There was no seminar about Me too or any topics relating to sexism. Love got tired of waiting for someone else to take the initiative to fix such problems. At Subcase he invites men active in the field to participate in this discussion.

* Panel discussion: The role of the clown in contemporary circus
”I am a clown and I love circus. The clown has traditionally been perceived as an essential and defining character of the circus. But in contemporary circus I find it difficult to find my place. Clowning is not given much attention in contemporary circus education, and there are many different conceptions of what a clown of today is. It is confusing, and I would like to discuss this issue with colleagues in the sector.”

What is the role of the clown in contemporary circus? This panel discussion is initiated by Virginia Librado, a Spanish clown and circus artist based in Sweden since 2013. She invites artists, presenters and producers at Subcase to think together on this issue. A panel is invited to catalyse the discussion:
* Stacey Sacks – Clown, PhD Candidate at Stockholm University UNIARTS, co-writer of The Clown Manifiesto
* Malin Öhrn – Clown and actress
* Karl H Granberg – Clown at Clownmedicin and circus artist
* Manne af Klintberg – Clown and founder of Clownen Manne & Co

* Panel discussion: Creating a circus region – The example of Nycirkus Öst
Nycirkus Öst in Eastern Sweden is an interesting example of how collaboration on a regional level – between arts institutions, municipalities, the arts council, civil society and businesses – can contribute to the strengthening and developing of contemporary circus.

Representatives for Nycirkus Öst will give an inspiring presentation on how they have worked to create a regional hub of development for the artform, including a festival, residency programs and educations. They invite Subcase participants to a discussion on possible paths for the future.
* Eva Lundgren Stenbom – Project manager Nycirkus Öst
* Maria Brusman – Culture strategis for performing arts, Region Östergötland.
* Magali Bancel – Circus artist at Östgötateatern.

* Round table: Circus Reinvented? THIS ROUND TABLE IS CANCELLED
In this round table, Heba el Cheikh and Moushira elAmrawy from Mahatat Collective in Egypt will formulate questions for the circus field. What is a circus show? What do we get out of it? Can circus be open source? How can different groups adapt and build their own circus?

With the participation of the audience, the facilitators will gamify the discussion in order to generate a set of questions, and leads to answers. The process and output are part of ‘Play’, which is Mahatat Collective’s new theme for developing circus shows. ‘Play’ is about reproducing circus shows with a different vision, as well as creating shows and building structures that can convert empty spaces within the cities into playgrounds for shows.