South- South Exchange between Fekat and Phare

Fekat Circus and Phare Ponleu Selpak share a social approach using circus arts and promoting the local culture through  artistic workshops for disadvantaged children and youth.

Through Fekat Circus’s “Circus, Berta!”, supported by the European Union Delegation in Ethiopia, AMI and AMG support this exchange, which includes reciprocal visits to experience the activities of the social circuses carried out in the respective countries.

To this end, the professionals of Fekat Circus travel to Cambodia in March 2017 to visit the social activities undertaken in Battambang: the performing arts school (circus, theatre, dance, music), the VAAS- visual and applied arts school (link to the project) as well as the educational and social activities offered by Phare Ponleu Selpak. Subsequently, the three professionals visit the Enterprise Circus, which Phare Ponleu Selpak began in Siem Reap to present their shows, which are prepared during the workshops, to the local tourists. In a second phase, in February/March 2018, during the second edition of the African Circus Festival, three Phare Ponleu Selpak professionals travel to Ethiopia to visit the activities of the Fekat Circus, which are carried out daily: classes in circus arts, the preparation and putting on of shows in their headquarters, outreach activities at orphanages and jails, and the doctor-clown activities offered daily at the pediatric ward of the Black Lion Hospital (link to the project).

In this way, the participants can broaden their vision, discover new models for circus organizations operating in the social sphere, become knowledgeable about the artistic and cultural context in the host country, become better acquainted with the artistic programme and work of local artists from whom inspiration can be derived and explore possible future collaboration.