Alice Brunot, CIRCOSTRADA: “Outdoor arts are a way of reclaiming public space”

Alice Brunot is Head of International Development at ARTCENA and Coordinator of Circostrada, the European network for contemporary circus and outdoor arts. With more than 25 years of experience in cultural cooperation and diplomacy across France, Spain, Italy, the United States and India, she has built a career at the intersection of international cultural policy, network development and public-interest projects.

At SIPAM 2026, where Circostrada is holding its Annual General Meeting within FITS, Brunot spoke about the collective power of performance, the fragility and resilience of outdoor arts, the changing conditions for international touring, the impact of climate change on artistic practice, and the political importance of reclaiming public space through culture.

Alice Brunot: What a beautiful question. It is also a beautiful theme, and the way we discussed it during the opening conference was very powerful. When I think about soul, I think about collectiveness: how we connect with one another, how we connect with our emotions, and how we connect with everything that artistic content and performance bring into our lives. For me, the soul of performance lies in experiencing it collectively, live, and in the way it activates something within each of us.

Alice Brunot: The soul of cultural diplomacy is human connection. Over the years, many things have changed. When I started working, we still communicated by fax. Contracts were sent by fax, and often there was a single shared email address for an entire organisation. Long-distance phone calls were expensive, so you had to prepare carefully and solve everything during one conversation.

That illustrates how dramatically our ways of communicating and working have changed. We have gained incredible possibilities, but we have also accelerated everything. Today, many people are asking how we can slow down again.

Alice Brunot: No, I don't think so. During the Covid years, everyone talked about slowing down, but it did not really happen. We are still moving very fast.

Another major change is the growing awareness of ecological issues. The cultural sector has embraced this challenge not only by raising awareness, but also by questioning its own practices: how we tour, how we travel, how we produce work.

At Circostrada, we are part of the consortium leading Perform Europe, the only European scheme dedicated to the performing arts that also functions as a laboratory for new practices, including ecological responsibility and inclusivity. These concerns have transformed the sector significantly.

Alice Brunot: Inclusivity begins with audiences. Outdoor arts and contemporary circus have always been pioneers in this respect. Artists and programmers have long worked in villages, city squares, outdoor spaces and unconventional venues, reaching people without barriers.

Today, there is a stronger commitment across the arts to truly reach everyone. This means taking differences into account, ensuring accessibility, and responding to the specific needs of both audiences and artists.

There is also growing awareness that many groups remain underrepresented on stage. The question is no longer only who attends performances, but also who gets to create them.

Alice Brunot: Not entirely. I would challenge the idea that outdoor arts are simply a first step towards something else.

Outdoor performances can be extremely sophisticated, emotionally powerful and artistically ambitious. There is no hierarchy between outdoor and indoor experiences. They are simply different forms of artistic experience.

Many artists create specifically for public spaces or site-specific environments. Their work integrates the audience, the architecture, the city itself. It can transform how people experience a place. That is an extraordinary power. Outdoor arts are also a way of reclaiming public space. It is a political gesture to say: "This space belongs to us."

At a time when public spaces are increasingly privatised or monitored, artists and audiences coming together outdoors are reclaiming the right to gather, to express themselves and to experience their cities collectively. That is a profoundly powerful act.

Alice Brunot: The first challenge is the fragility of the sector itself. Outdoor arts and contemporary circus are among the most vulnerable artistic fields. In many countries, including Romania, they are not fully recognised through dedicated public policies. They often lack dedicated funding schemes, formal education systems and institutional support.

Romania is taking an important step forward with the creation of a formal circus education programme, which is excellent news. At the same time, it opens interesting discussions about where circus education belongs and how it is recognised.

More broadly, the performing arts rely heavily on small independent companies and freelance artists. In many countries, rehearsal and creation time remains insufficiently recognised or paid. This has led to important conversations about fair working conditions across the sector.

The situation has become even more difficult as public funding for culture decreases. We are already seeing festivals reducing their duration, frequency and programming budgets. A festival that used to last five days now lasts three. An annual event may become biennial. This means fewer opportunities for artists and fewer opportunities for audiences.

Alice Brunot: A second major issue is the future European cultural framework. Creative Europe is evolving into what will become AgoraEU, and we are currently in a crucial phase of negotiations. Some recent proposals are not particularly favourable to the performing arts, which is why many cultural organisations are actively advocating for stronger recognition of the sector.

The third challenge is climate change. When you work outdoors or under a circus tent, rising temperatures and extreme weather conditions have a direct impact on artistic activity. We are seeing changes happen so rapidly that adaptation becomes increasingly difficult.

Summer performances become more challenging. Artists and audiences face greater risks. Climate change is no longer an abstract issue for our sector; it affects our daily reality.

Ultimately, however, the central challenge remains recognition. Recognition of outdoor arts. Recognition of contemporary circus. Recognition of their value within cultural policies.

Alice Brunot: Touring continues, of course. Festivals such as FITS in Sibiu remain extremely important because they continue to invite international companies and support artistic circulation.

At the same time, opportunities are shrinking. As I mentioned earlier, festivals are reducing their duration, budgets and number of invitations. Meanwhile, mobility costs continue to rise dramatically. For example, when organising the Circostrada Annual General Meeting in Sibiu, we had to rethink travel arrangements several times because some flight prices had become extraordinarily high. We had to reroute guests, modify itineraries and find alternative solutions.

Mobility has become significantly more expensive, and this has consequences for international exchange. This is one reason why Circostrada has developed the DIVE International Touring Toolkit. After editions dedicated to France and the United Kingdom, we are now publishing a Romanian chapter.

The goal is simple: provide artists with practical information and help them navigate the realities of touring in a specific country. Capacity-building and knowledge-sharing are becoming increasingly important. Even within Europe, administrative challenges remain significant.

Alice Brunot: We come back to the theme of the soul: human beings. We live in a society saturated by screens, digital content and constant consumption of information. Yet live performance offers something that cannot be replicated.

When you share an experience with others, you feel the collective emotion. You feel the silence, the tension, the laughter. You cry together. You laugh together.

That collective dimension is essential. Whether it happens on a stage, in a square or in the street, performing arts create a shared space where people are fully present with one another. We need those moments. They connect us to each other, to the past and to the future.

Alice Brunot: Circostrada is an international network, although most of our members are based in Europe because this is where the network was created and where much of our funding originates.

Outdoor arts and circus are international by nature. They often rely on non-verbal forms of communication, and artists regularly travel for training, collaboration and artistic development. International and multicultural teams are extremely common.

Our members are present across all continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North America and South America. What is fascinating is that many countries are developing strong ecosystems for outdoor arts. South Korea, for example, has built a particularly robust festival landscape. Strong public support creates conditions in which artists can create, tour and sustain their careers.

In contemporary circus, we also see significant artistic evolution. The discipline increasingly moves beyond technical virtuosity towards narrative, imagination and emotional complexity.

Many artists train in Europe and then return home with new approaches to storytelling and artistic expression. We also see remarkable examples of what we call social circus. In Cambodia, for example, Phare began by working with children from refugee communities, using circus as a tool for resilience after years of collective trauma. Today, it also provides professional opportunities and economic sustainability. There are similar initiatives in Brazil, South Africa and many other countries.

Circus is often deeply connected to social practice. It creates hope, resilience and opportunities

Alice Brunot: During these opening discussions, someone said something very important: we must constantly remind ourselves why we do this work. We live in uncertain times. There are political crises, wars, growing divisions and increasing tendencies towards isolation.

In many places, people are tempted to withdraw into themselves rather than engage with others. The performing arts offer an alternative.

Artists, imagination and collective experiences remind us of our shared humanity. They create connections between people who might otherwise never meet. They allow us to move forward together. That is what gives me hope.

Alice Brunot: This is my first time at SIPAM, but it has already made a strong impression on me. One of its greatest strengths is that it is embedded within the festival itself. You are not attending a market separated from artistic life; you are immersed in the festival experience.

I arrived yesterday evening after a long journey and several hours of delays. After dropping my bag at the hotel, I immediately went into the city. What struck me was the atmosphere. The streets were full of people enjoying performances, but there was also a sense of calm and generosity. It felt joyful, peaceful and welcoming.

I was particularly moved by the intergenerational aspect of the festival. Families, children, older people and international visitors were all sharing the same spaces and experiences. There was a strong feeling that the city belonged to everyone.

People were not only reclaiming their public space; they were also sharing it with visitors from around the world. That was incredibly inspiring.

SIPAM itself is also a remarkable meeting place. It brings together people who might never otherwise meet. Some of the people I encountered here are individuals with whom I had exchanged emails for years without ever meeting in person.

I have also been impressed by the quality of the discussions. The conferences are not simply networking opportunities. They have real intellectual depth and explore important questions facing the cultural sector today.

Finally, I am very happy about the collaboration between SIPAM and Circostrada. This year, there is a stronger presence of outdoor arts and contemporary circus professionals within the programme.

I hope this is only the beginning and that this connection will continue to grow in future editions. The outdoor programme of FITS is already highly respected internationally, and it deserves to remain an important part of the conversations taking place here.