CIRKO POLIS

About the performance

A humorous work in progress look into the “DIY circus” workshop of Eliška Brtnická.

How do you write a grant application at a table that has no legs?

How do you use a jigsaw to round the edges?

How do you explain an artistic intention in bureaucratic language?

Through circus art, the author opens up the topics of systems, bureaucracy, and the absurdities that accompany the creative process. She also responds to the introduction of the status of a professional artist in the Czech Republic and raises the question of what it actually means to be a “recognized” artist. She invites the audience into her workshop, sharing not only her own experience but also the testimonies of her colleagues. She weaves together physical performance with documentary texts, AI-generated texts, and excerpts from Václav Havel’s plays as a contribution to the ongoing debate about the sustainability of artistic work.