History

The Central del Circ project came about from three different initiatives:

From its beginnings, l’Associació de Professionals del Circ de Catalunya (The Association of Circus Professionals of Catalonia, APCC) has highlighted the need to generate spaces where it was possible to create, train, practice and study in necessary conditions: heights, technical and security materials and staff with adequate knowledge to accompany these projects.

At that time, the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (Barcelona Cultural Institute) initiated the network of Fàbriques de Creació as a strategy to provide a response to the lack of work spaces for artists and creators. In 2007 La Central became part of the network, fent palesa of the will of the Municipal Government of Barcelona to recognise the circus as one of the city’s strategic arts.

At the same time, the Department of Culture of the Regional Government of Catalonia Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya made a commitment toward the circus sector, establishing the Pla Integral de Circ (Comprehensive Circus Plan, PIC), to counter the institutional negligence that existed toward this scenic arts. The process of implementing the second PIC (or PIC II) is scheduled to be finalised in 2015 and it is expected to provide an agreement such that La Central del Circ, as an artistic creation and production space, can continue offering resources for creators to progress in their projects.

Formed in 2008, La Central del Circ started its history in a big-top tent and in 2011 it moved to the current installations. During that time, it has experienced a process of sustained growth, continually increasing the number of artists and public which have beneffited from the services offerred and becoming a point of reference for the sector, at both the local and international level, being one of the few spaces in Europe with appropriate conditions to practice almost all circus disciplines.