The Metamodern Circus

This event has ended.

We’re excited to announce free tickets are now available for The Metamodern Circus, a one-day event taking place in Cardiff on Friday 26 May. Aimed at creative practitioners, cultural scholars, and interested members of the public, this symposium will be an introduction to and exploration of the intersecting facets of circus and metamodernism.

Book your place now or read on to find out more!

In much of the Western world, circus hit the peak of public recognition in the modernist era of the twentieth century. Since the 1990s, experiments in ‘contemporary circus’ have embraced the postmodern. Some cultural theorists now describe our era as ‘metamodern’, bringing together elements of thought and feeling from both the previous zeitgeists. Important aspects of metamodernism include postirony, reappreciation of craft, reconstruction of authenticity and a renewed sense of spirituality (Van den Akker, Gibbons & Vermeulen 2017).

Inspired by this relatively uncharted territory, we present our mini-festival, bringing together circus practitioners and scholars of metamodern phenomena to explore how the two perspectives intersect. We invite anyone with an interest in arts, culture and philosophy to join us in deepening our understanding of the times we’re living in. The day will include keynote talks, performance and roundtable discussions, as well as some fun activity to keep us in the spirit of the event. The final part of the day is dedicated to a built-in workshop to develop a shared document that reflects on our learning and questioning from the day. This will be published and shared with our wider communities of practice and scholarship.

When? Friday 26 May 2023

Where? NoFit State Community Circus, Cardiff (UK)

How do I get my free tickets? Through Eventbrite

All welcome! The event will be presented in English.

Funded by the AHRC South West and Wales Doctoral Training Programme, the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Programme, and the Doctoral Academy of Cardiff University. In partnership with The Circus Diaries.