WELCOME!
Streetwise Community Circus offer a wide range of circus-based activities for everyone throughout Northern Ireland
SCC STRATEGIC PLAN 2025-29
Streetwise has now finalised our new 5 year plan (2025-29) laying out a pathway to a sustainable long term future. We would welcome any funding organisations or partners to read this plan as it gives readers an understanding of Streetwise as an organisation and highlights the challenges and opportunities we face moving forwards.
LISLEA SHOWCASE, APRIL 2025
A fantastic time at Lislea Centre on Tuesday evening, 15th April. A big round of applause for all of our performers at this spectacular event!
This was our first REAP showcase combining the talents of the Lislea Ageility group which meets weekly, funded by the Lottery's Community Fund. The Ageility group met with the Lislea youth club, who participated in our workshops funded by the Arts Councils REAP programme. This created an intergenerational event which was enjoyed by the whole community.
ST PATRICK'S DAY 2025
Streetwise are proud to have been involved in St Patrick's Day events across NI this year! Here are some photos of our performers from the Belfast, Omagh and Strabane parades.
PEOPLE & COMMUNITIES OUTREACH PROGRAMME
Residents of Westbridge House Enniskillen enjoying circus skills as part of our People and Communities programme which is funded by the Lottery Community Fund. We are currently running programmes across Northern Ireland.
COMMUNITY FUND GUARANTEES AGEILITY CIRCUS NI FOR 5 YEARS!
Streetwise are thrilled to announce the award of 5 years funding from the Community Fund, allowing us to continue to develop our Age-ility programme through Northern Ireland. This has secured the future of core programmes based in Belfast, Fermanagh, Mid & East Antrim, Ards & North Down and County Armagh. These programmes enable older people to enjoy regular weekly circus workshops. This funding will also allow us to run outreach programmes in those areas for people living in sheltered accommodation and facilitate them to join the local circus groups in their community.
Kate Quinn (Community Development Leader from Lislea) stated “Lislea Age-ility Group are delighted Streetwise Community Circus have been successful in their application to the National Lottery Community Fund, as this will enable us to keep providing weekly workshops to those who participate and continue to grow the group by welcoming more participants from other areas to attend these wonderful workshops, facilitated by Streetwise’s excellent tutors”
Hats off to Streetwise from the Lislea Ageility group
Huge thank you to the COMMUNITY FUND for making Age-ility circus a reality for so many !
If you are living in sheltered accommodation in Belfast, Greater Newry area, North Down and Ards, Fermanagh or Mid and East Antrim you can participate in an outreach circus programme free of charge. We offer 6-week taster programmes free of charge thanks to the COMMUNITY FUND own space. Try your hand at something new.
SIT-DOWN CIRCUS
Since 2020 Streetwise have been developing "sit-down" circus techniques to make circus accessible to a wider range of abilities.
Belfast film maker Michael McNulty has created this short film demonstrating this new development.
CURRENT PROGRAMME
Streetwise Community Circus are now running our full summer programme for 2024. Check the What's On page for more info.
Thanks to the ongoing support from our funders: Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Lottery Community Fund and Belfast City Council we have been able to continue the “social circus” programmes which have supported so many people throughout the covid crisis across Northern Ireland. For the next 6 months we can offer the opportunity for people to enjoy circus across the following programmes:
YOUTH CIRCUS
Young People can join us on Friday evenings in Morton Community Centre to participate in long term circus skills development across the full range of circus skills including juggling, stilts, unicycle, acrobatics and aerial skills. This programme also includes a pathway for participants to acquire the skills and training required to become tutors and performers.
Youth Circus show September 2022
AGE-ILITY PROGRAMME
Older people are welcome to join us on Friday mornings from 11.00am - 1.00pm to enjoy the full range of circus skills including aerial skills. These sessions currently include an additional experienced “sit-down” circus tutor funded by the Arts Council’s Arts and Older People programme to make the sessions to increase the accessibility of the sessions.
Friday Age-ility session in full swing!
STREETWISE DISABILITY PROGRAMME
We are currently running a regular Thursday afternoon session for participants who can attend independently while also running an extensive programme of workshops in partnership with health trusts in day centres across large areas of Northern Ireland. These include: Downpatrick, Carrickfergus, Belfast, Newtownabbey, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Antrim, Ballycastle, Magherafelt and Larne.
STREETWISE PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES PROGRAMME
This programme currently runs regular workshops for older people enjoying circus in their own community groups in Whitehead, Lislea (Newry), Tamlaght (Enniskillen) and Millisle. In addition to this this programme is now developing a new links with sheltered accommodation centres across many areas supporting some of those left most isolated by Covid. Currently these programmes are running in 5 Belfast Centres, 3 in the Ballymena area, 3 in the Ards and North Down area.
Through our ACNI Arts and Older People programme we can run workshops for 3 dementia schemes and add “sit-down” circus tutors to regular programmes encouraging participation from people living with this condition.
Whitehead community circus
DEVELOPING NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO KEEP DELIVERING
As we continue to develop “post covid”, we are continuing to see new opportunities for our work. This includes the development of a programme for asylum seekers which is currently in the planning stage following a pilot this summer funded by Belfast City Council and the expansion of our work in sheltered accommodation following the need created by Covid in this area.
DONATION SCHEME
All these programmes are free to participants, although as financial pressures continue to grow on all areas of society, we are increasingly dependant on income from donations from those able to support our work to enable us to maintain our programmes and grow in the future.
Check out our Donation Scheme page for more info.