React, Invent, Get together for a Goal: Expertise in Rigging Services

<< Background >>In the last 15 years there has been growing awareness that the safety of the physical environments and equipment used in circus arts education must be a priority. Artists must control risks in order to minimize harm while simultaneously engaging with risk through artistic expression in performance. In circus Institutions, “riggers” are the specialists dealing with all aspects related to the safety of those working and training to become artists. The consortium of partners identified the following needs: •Riggers in circus Institutions often work in isolation with a heavy burden of responsibility. They lack chances to meet and share knowledge with peers from other Institutions. •There is a lack of reference documents, methodologies, tools and standards on how to asses risk and ensure safety in circus institution equipment, spaces and apparatus. •There are no common international standards nor methods of safety and rigging in the institutions. •Circus institutions are finding it difficult to recruit new riggers, since there is no common agreement on what should be the responsibilities and the expertise required for a circus education rigger.<< Objectives >>The React, Invent, Get together for a Goal: Expertise in Rigging Services (RIGGERS) project has been developed to answer the needs of riggers, the specialists dealing with all aspects related to safety in circus Institutions. The aims were 1) enhancing the quality of safety measures in professional circus Institutions, 2) creating a new international community to exchange skills, advice and expertise, and 3) ensuring knowledge transmission to future generations.The specific objectives of the project were to: •Identify the needs of the riggers by mapping the sector and collecting relevant data.•Build an international community of riggers by creating a sustainable framework to share and collect good practices, working towards agreements on standards, and by creating a dedicated virtual space to share and exchange between peers.•Offer a training scheme enabling fluid exchange between peers where current practices are shared, questioned and improved, and video-based documentation can be created to transmit knowledge and train new riggers and students.<< Implementation >>• 2 RIGGERS Seminars (5 days, all partners). 1st: Pairs for the Rigger Swapping Experiences (RSE) were identified. Based on the preliminary results from the Survey (PR1), a list of prioritized topics to be worked on during the RSE:s was produced and also presented and discussed with education leaders. 2nd: Focused sharing of best practice with rigger led sessions, feedback on the first FED-talks (PR3) and discussions on project adjustments.• 7 Riggers Swapping Experiences (RSEs) and 2 Riggers Visiting Experiences (RVEs): individual and group job shadowing at the educational institution partners, to enable practical on-site knowledge exchange and exploring of different approaches to safety & rigging.• 21 Months of Distance cooperation on a dedicated Virtual Platform, in particular on the RIGGERS Slack Workspace (online application to manage communities) about chosen topics of common interest• 3 Partners meetings during large-scale events to manage the project, keep all partners informed, provide visibility and discuss achievement and planning.• 7 Steering Committee meetings, mostly online, to monitor project activities and budget expenditure. • 9 Multiplier Events, mostly during large-scale and renown circus events to disseminate project results.<< Results >>•A survey and report on the rigger’s profession in circus education, contributing to the project content plus suggesting possible areas of cooperation and further sustainable actions.•2 RIGGERS posters have been developed to share survey results and raise awareness on the role of riggers in circus education.•11 FED-Talks: Video tutorials aimed at sharing good practices in safety and rigging with riggers and students in Europe and beyond.•The Virtual Platform: Composed of a Workspace on Slack, Google Drive, WhatsApp group and a dedicated project website. The RIGGERS Workspace on Slack is the first international online space dedicated to rigging and safety in circus education. It remains active after the end of the project and is currently managed by riggers in partner institutions. •One external evaluation containing suggestion for future development, as well as a document archive collected and developed during the project. •A professional profile for circus education riggers: a proposal of roles that every rigger performs in an education organisation and the connected responsibilities. •An international professional community of circus education riggers that use the Virtual Platform to share and exchange relevant issues.•An international community of circus education institutions committed to raising awareness about the importance of rigging & safety in the sector.