Circability Trust

Social Circus for social change. Circability delivers classes, workshops and community events for all ages, all abilities and all cultures, using social circus as a tool for developing personal confidence, physical and emotional literacy, and wellbeing, connecting people and sharing joy. Our vision “All ages, all abilities, all cultures - better together” guides Circability in our quest to improve lives and impact social change through social circus arts. We develop inclusion programmes for people with disabilities, enhancing creative career employment options for all. We have been awarded through Arts Access Aotearoa's Creative Spaces Excellence and Partnership Awards. We emphasize the collaborative process to create safe spaces for inclusive social circus arts practice to flourish in diverse communities. We collaborate with Toi Mātauranga Māori arts practitioners, creating culturally inclusive, tailored social circus programmes and 'Kanohi Kitea' wānanga with our partners. We initiate community circus conventions, attracting International participation and collaboration with Cirque du Soleil and Australia’s National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA), helped to convene Aotearoa New Zealand Circus Association (ANZCA) and founded the annual national Youth Circus Festival. We have good working relationships with major philanthropic trusts, Auckland Council, Ministry of Social Development, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, and the Ministry of Youth Development. To facilitate best practice, we commissioned two significant circus-sector research papers, informing and guiding our strategy and direction to help develop a sustainable and robust Social Circus sector in Aotearoa. We foster mutual relationships and form new partners to support our growth and innovative vision, building our national capacity to meet demand.