Circuswereld Forum

(PERSBERICHT)

UNESCO addresses Circus Directors
Federation Plans for 2010

Monte-Carlo, Monaco –

The head of UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Mme Cecile Duvelle, addressed more than 80 circus directors and owners and representatives at a private luncheon offered by the Federation under the patronage of H.S.H. Princess Stephanie of Monaco in partnership with the Monegasque Société des Bains de Mer. Following a brief presentation concerning circus as “culture for the millions,” Mme Duvelle outlined the goals of the Convention and underlined the cultural role of circus. Mme Duvelle also attended a competition show of the Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo.

During the meeting, Federation representatives reviewed achievements in the Federation’s first full year of operation and agreed on goals and activities for 2010. The Preservation Project will remain the focus of activities including a major professional meeting on preservation of circus history and artifacts to be held 16-19 June 2010 in Montreal. In addition, the Federation will coordinate and support the first World Circus Day to be held 17 April 2010. More than a dozen countries already have expressed their enthusiasm and intend to participate in this global celebration.

Another significant decision taken by the Federation at its meetings in Monaco was to admit a new member representing circus interests within Asia. An announcement identifying the new member will be made later in 2010 in conjunction with an important circus event.

The popular photography contest held in 2009 will be offered again in 2010. Best of show winners for the 2009 contest Ron Mikkenie of the Netherlands and Janeric Dahlin of Sweden were recognized for their outstanding color and black/white circus photographs depicting performing animals and circus performance, respectively. Twenty-four winning photos were published in 2010 calendars, and Mikkenie and Dahlin received framed copies of their winning entries signed by H.S.H. Princess Stephanie.

The Fédération Mondiale du Cirque was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Monte-Carlo. The goal of the FMC is to promote circus arts and culture worldwide, to support the circus through proprietary projects, to serve as a voice for the circus community and to represent circus interests to international organizations. Its six founding members are the Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo, the European Circus Association, the Outdoor Amusement Business Association in the United States, the Circus Federation of Australia, the Animal Interest Alliance in South Africa, and the Canadian organization En Piste.

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Gelukkig zijn niet alle circussen hetzelfde....

(Persbericht 3 February 2010)
Preservation Seminar in Budapest a Great Success

St Petersburg, Ringling Museum and Cirque du Soleil Find Common Ground



Budapest, Hungary – More than fifty participants from the museum and circus communities learned about the goals and challenges of public, private and circus organisations collecting, holding and exhibiting circus memorabilia and artifacts. The seminar was hosted by MACIVA, the organizer of the 8th International Circus Festival of Budapest, the European Circus Association and the Fédération Mondiale du Cirque. The meeting constituted the first event in the next phase of the Federation’s Preservation Project, which began with a Roundtable in Monaco in 2009 to explore the role the Federation could play in supporting the preservation of circus history. Mr. László Varjasi, General Director of MACIVA, opened the meeting by presenting a new book concerning the 120-year history of the Capital Circus of Budapest, published for its Jubilee celebrations.
Mr. Douwe Schulte, a private collector, described his extensive collection and discussed the challenges he had faced and continues to face in making the collection available to the public through the establishment of a documentation center or other public exhibition. Presenting on behalf of his co-author, Ms. Debbie Walk, curator of the Ringling Circus Museum in Sarasota, Florida, Mr. Rodney Huey familiarised participants with the circus collections at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin and the Ringling Circus Museum, the two preeminent collections in the United States. Mr. Huey described both financial challenges in keeping circus museums open and donations enabling the growth of exhibition, storage and conservation spaces dedicated to circus history.
The first circus museum in the world, the Museum of Circus Art in St Petersburg. Russia, was presented by its director, Catharina Shaina. Ms Shaina described not only extensive collections and resources made available to the academic community but also the living role of the museum in inspiring artists by studying the past. Cirque du Soleil’s Sylvie Francois, head of Global Citizenship Service, described Cirque’s collection and housing of its own history and artifacts. Ms Francois provided information about Cirque’s collecting policy and the challenges that were arising related to growth of the company, cost and structure.
While the presenters from private, public and circus collections described unique aspirations and difficulties, financial issues were at the heart of challenges faced by all types of collections. A number of participants identified the need for support for individuals and small organizations with significant collections but limited access to the museums and preservation experts. Equally challenging for all concerned is the issue of space: while the specialists advised private collectors and circuses to preserve everything possible, storage and exhibition space permits only a fraction of the things that are historically or otherwise significant to be selected for collections. Another common theme concerned the disposition of large collections by private collectors in cases where the collector did not have family members interesting in maintaining them. Discussions suggested that public museums faced problems in reaching agreements with private collectors to exhibit only selected items of a collection; equally, private collectors often wish to maintain the integrity of their collection and to perpetuate it. On the other hand, one of the participants provided a positive example in which numerous collectors united to create a shared documentation center in Italy.
The seminar concluded with the announcement of a major professional meeting to be held in Montreal from 16-19 June 2010 that would enable detailed exploration of some of the issues and themes identified in Budapest. Hosted by Cirque du Soleil and En Piste in partnership with the Federation, the meeting will be entitled “Preserving our Memory: The Importance of Circus Artifacts.” Further information about the professional meeting in Montreal and copies of all of the presentations in Budapest will be available shortly at http://www.circusfederation.org under “Projects.”
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Gelukkig zijn niet alle circussen hetzelfde....