L’Arxiu de Circ launches its digital platform to mark the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Tripijoc Joc Trip by La Tràgica

Parade from the performance “Tripijoc Joc Trip” by the La Tràgica company, 1976 / Jordi Jané

Fifty years ago, on 6 October 1976, La Tràgica premiered Tripijoc Joc Trip, considered by several specialist sources to be the first Catalan New Circus production and a pioneering work of contemporary circus in Catalonia. That premiere marked a profound transformation in the way circus was understood and practised in our country.

Fifty years later, the same date marks another symbolic moment. L’Arxiu de Circ is opening its digital platform to the public, arxiudecirc.cat, a resource created to preserve, document, research and promote the memory of Catalan circus.

A living, diverse and participatory memory

L’Arxiu de Circ was created out of the need to preserve a history that, over the course of decades, has been shaped by the trajectories of many people, companies, venues, festivals and projects, but which is often scattered across personal archives, company collections, institutions, private collections and the memories of the professionals themselves.

The platform brings together and connects information about people, companies, performances, fairs and festivals, venues, chronology, press coverage, documents, photographs and multimedia materials, offering different ways of exploring the history of circus in Catalonia.

But the Archive does not aim to be merely a repository of the past. It is based on the concept of living memory: a history that continues to be built and that needs to incorporate new voices, materials, perspectives and testimonies.

For this reason, the project embraces a plural, participatory and decentralised approach, helping to give visibility to different generations, territories, career paths and ways of understanding circus. The aim is to contribute to the collective construction of a narrative that is neither singular nor closed, but one that can continue to grow through contributions from the sector.

Cirquet Confetti – Photograph from the company’s early years (Tàrrega), 1990s

An open presentation for the sector on 17 October

To celebrate the launch of the platform, on Saturday 17 October L’Arxiu de Circ will hold its official presentation at a public event in Barcelona, as part of Interrupcions, the arts and ideas programme promoted by La Central del Circ.

The event aims to bring together circus professionals, institutions, artists and other performing arts practitioners, combining an artistic proposal, the presentation of the platform and a space for collective reflection.

At 6 pm, the event will begin at Carrer de Sant Pere Més Alt, 10, with Pas a Pas. Señor StetS Lonely Orkestar i Amics, a roving artistic intervention by Karl StetS that will make its way through the streets to Plaça del Pou de la Figuera.

At 7 pm, at Palau Reial Major – Sala Martí l’Humà – Museu d’Història de Barcelona, there will be a public presentation of L’Arxiu de Circ, followed by the round-table discussion Can We Create Without Memory?, a space for conversation about the role of memory in contemporary creation, research and the future of circus.

The discussion, moderated by Gina Vila, will feature Montse Trias, Vivian Friedrich, Miriam Gracia, Vic Heredero, Marta Cardellach, Anne Morin, and other professionals and practitioners from the sector.

The discussion will raise questions such as: What are our stories? Which ones have remained invisible? Can we create without memory? It is an invitation to think together about how recovering the sector’s heritage and experiences can enrich current artistic practices and contribute to a more dynamic and sustainable circus ecosystem.

An invitation to continue building the Archive

The presentation on 17 October will also be an open invitation to the sector. L’Arxiu de Circ is a project in continuous development and needs the participation of the people and collectives who have shaped and continue to shape the history of Catalan circus.

Artists, companies, professionals, researchers, photographers, venues, festivals, institutions and individuals are invited to discover the platform and contribute photographs, posters, programmes, dossiers, documents, recordings, press materials and testimonies that can help complete and enrich this collective memory.

Fifty years ago, a new chapter in Catalan circus began. Today, a tool is being launched to preserve and share its memory.

The Arxiu Viu de Circ is one of the 14 measures included in the Catalonia Circus Promotion Plan (2023–2026), an initiative of the Department of Culture and the Catalan Association of Circus Professionals (APCC), and is promoted by La Central del Circ.

Official Presentation of L’Arxiu de Circ

Saturday, 17 October 2026

• 6 pm · Pas a Pas. Señor StetS Lonely Orkestar i Amics – Karl StetS
  C. Sant Pere Més Alt, 10 → Plaça del Pou de la Figuera
• 7–9 pm · Can We Create Without Memory?
  Presentation of L’Arxiu de Circ + round-table discussion
  Palau Reial Major – Sala Martí l’Humà – Museu d’Història de Barcelona. Plaça del Rei, 1. Barcelona

Event open to circus professionals and the general public.

With the launch of arxiudecirc.cat, fifty years of transformation in Catalan circus are being made accessible to everyone. A history that remains alive and is still being written.

Poster for the show “Tripijoc Joc Trip” by the company La Tràgica