Circus for Climate 2022-2023
The project ran from 1st March 2022 until 31st July 2023 in Latvia, and was supported by EEA grants. It was a collaboration between Acting for Climate and Riga Circus designed to empower new generations, involved them in artistic and climate change activism, and improve rural populations’ accessibility to contemporary arts. It has explored the collective empowerment that the combination of education, art and activism can provide.
Rīgas cirks is a multifunctional art centre which aims not only at offering important and topical circus performances to an ever-expanding public, but also promotes the development and visibility of the circus industry in the Latvian society in the long term. The project was conceived to inspire and empower the youngsters, in whose hands and dreams the future lies.
The project culminated in the performance “Dandelion” in May 2023, with Riga Cirks and local artists, and was developed to tour school in Latvia afterwards.
Restoration of Redoubt Skalka to Multicultural Space 2022-2024
The project restored the old castle Redoubt Skalka in the Jelšava municipality of the Revúca District of Banská Bystrica Region, one of least developed districts in the EU, to establish an operating Youth Centre, supporting Youth Work, Social Field Work, and organizing an international exchange with the aim to establish an artist residency programme at the multicultural youth center. The Project was funded by EEA and Norway grants. Jelšava is a town with a rich mining and iron tradition as well as craft production. With this projects the city leadership seeked to preserve cultural heritage, while engaging citizens, young people, Roma youth, and marginalized groups with innovative methods, into purposeful and future-oriented Youth Work programmes for them to revitalize the region facing global economic and climate challenges. The project built on a multi-sectoral and vertical collaboration for the benefit of children and young people to further drive citizen engagement and innovations with Partners YMCA Revúca, Banská Bystrica Region Youth Council, Acting for Climate from Norway.
Global Climate Artists 2022
Acting for Climate was honoured to be able to collaborate with Nafsi Africa (Kenya) and Spor Media (Danmark), who brought Nafsi Africa’s new climate performance to tour in Denmark in September and October 2022. The project was supported by CISU and the Danish Ministry of Arts and Culture.
Acting for Climate has exchanged strategies and methods with the Kenyan artist group Nafsi Africa, about how to make performing art reflecting the fight against climate change and co-create workshops. See Nafsi Africa’s tour program here.
10 Advice for Non-formal Learning
– Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union –
As part of the Into the Water tour 2019, we created this guide for non-formal learning:
- Make the goal/aim clear for the participants.
- It is important that the participants create and notice their own reflections during the activities.
- Incorporate physical activity: learning is much more than realizing of the frontal cortex.
- It is important the the participants explore the concept physically in addition to discussion and that they are proactive in their choices.
- Site-specific tasks help the participants understand of the endless possibilities we are surrounded by and that learning can happen in all environments.
- Play as a form of learning brings three important components to the process: impulsiveness, creativity and laughter.
- By presenting the work and ideas of each participant often we take away the stress and the self-judgement that can come with learning.
- Make the process clear for the participants.
- Leave space in the program for nothingness: natural unforced processing and reflection are important.
- Recognize and articulate the different background of the participants and the strengths they already have.