Big Village Digital

A manifesto for action for the future: Supporting Global Majority artists working in Circus, cabaret and live performance.

Join the Big Village Digital movement. Discover six trailblazing Global Majority-led companies from across the UK and Australia. Through circus and cabaret they are challenging colonial, class-based and societal norms to break new ground in the world of performance and art.

Together, we worked together to create the Big Village Digital Manifesto. Born from four months of collaboration, the manifesto steers institutions in the direction of better supporting Global Majority-led companies and creating lasting, genuinely collaborative partnerships.

What can I do?

We encourage you to click the link below and read the manifesto.To show support, we are asking venues, programmers and other artists to share the Big Village Digital Manifesto with colleagues and peers, through their networks, social media channels and newsletters.

Watch how each company involved is reshaping the landscape of art and challenging the status quo through their inspiring short films:

Watch the films

An aerialist dangles backwards from an aerial rope in a dark room. A spotlight shines on them.
A woman dangles from an aerial rope in front of a blue background
UK

UPSWING AERIAL

Upswing is a leading contemporary circus company, whose productions and creative engagement programmes use circus to unite people from different backgrounds, uncover the extraordinary potential in humans and explore the ideas and stories that can connect us as communities.
Play Video
A woman is lifted into the air wearing a red leotard
AUS

CASUS CIRCUS

CASUS is an established touring company of 16 acrobats that originated in Brisbane, now a recognised leader in contemporary circus on the international stage. Inclusion and diversity are at the forefront of their work, giving light and energy to stories that are often absent from our stages, or heavily stereotyped.
Play Video
A group of performers dressed in costumes stand together closely
UK

THE COCOA BUTTER CLUB

The Cocoa Butter Club was born as a protest and challenge to the performing arts landscape. We set out to fill a cultural void. We strive to “decolonise & moisturise” the stages of London, UK, & abroad, redistributing the narrative of bodies of colour, providing agency and autonomy in celebrating our capabilities.
Play Video
A woman balances on a white aerial rope and puts her hand out in a darkly lit room.
A man lies on the floor bathed in blue light.
AUS

NA DJINANG CIRCUS

Na Djinang Circus is a Melbourne based circus company working with diverse young artists to share unique insight with the next generation’s Hands & Feet. We are a First Nations led company and the directorial style of our work imbues traditional and contemporary styles of performance with stories and styles of indigenous performance.
Play Video
UK

COLLECTIF AND THEN…

Lucie Maisha N’Duhirahe is a circus artist and maker of mixed heritage African diaspora. She graduated from NCCA (London) in 2009 and is the co-founder of the award-winning circus company Collectif and then… creating work on a diverse range of platforms, from rural west African regions to London’s theatres.
Play Video
A big group of performers dressed in lavish in red and white costumes pose together
AUS

HOUSE OF ALEXANDER

In the name of Alexander the Great, House of Alexander is Meanjin’s (Brisbane) pioneering ballroom house, founded in 2019 by Ella Ganza (Mother of the House of Alexander & Daughter of the Iconic Father Javier Ninja) together with Joshua Taliani (Father of the House of Alexander).
Play Video

WATCH THE BIG VILLAGE DIGITAL WEBINAR

In the Big Village – Digital webinar, the six companies came together to discuss the topics that informed our manifesto.

JOIN OUR ADVENTURE!

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