NoFit State’s community training space Four Elms has been shut since March 18th but is now embarking on a new pilot project funded by the Arts Council of Wales’s National Lottery Fund, that will aim to make our circus programme more accessible than ever as we plan to re-open post lockdown.
The project involves extensive research, partnership building and community consultation alongside a practical trial and evaluation of new processes, to make sure that we can reopen our vibrant community training space in the safest way possible.
The pilot programme will discover the best ways of delivering socially distanced circus classes safely. With special attention being given to delivering classes for children and young people who have been most adversely affected by the lockdown in the local area, where many families have faced exceptional challenges. This project is being developed alongside conversations with local primary schools in order to best support those most in need and create a class programme that will support parents and schools as they adjust to socially distanced learning and new, irregular shift patterns.
There are many things to re-consider and re-imagine in the delivery of circus classes, and this pilot will provide us with the time to thoroughly and safely explore the possibilities. Tackling the increase of inequality brought about by the coronavirus and building an even more inclusive practice to support our class attenders and the local community.
This pilot project has been made possible by the Stabilisation Fund for Organisations, funded the Arts Council of Wales’s National Lottery Fund.
