Intangible Cultural Heritage

As the UK opens registrations for the Living History of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), Articulation will be leading a collaborative effort to ensure Circus receives the formal recognition it deserves. In this blog, our Programme & Membership Coordinator Sophie McCarthy explains the significance of the movement.

Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is a phrase that can mean many things to many different people. In its simplest explanation, it is about the social histories of artforms, celebrations and communities coming together to share together. Whilst Cultural Heritage would include physical places like the Callanish Standing Stones or Stirling Castle, ICH would include the rich set of practices here in Scotland like storytelling, Highland dancing, or events like the Burryman in Queensferry. 

Circus in Scotland has a rich heritage that can be dated back in a contemporary format to the 1700s. But Circus itself has its origins entwined with Roman and Greek forms of public art and entertainment. It’s these origins that give Circus today its rich histories that have seen its form morph, change and adapt throughout time, in exactly the same way culture that is living has to, in order to survive. 

Our recent report Beyond The Stage, delved into the state of this cultural artform in the present day and the barriers that threaten its practice and existence. A common barrier practitioners of this cultural heritage experience is a lack of artform recognition by funders. Without funding to sustain the development of circus artists, the number of individuals and organisations that can safely pass on knowledge and skills will over time diminish and present an existential threat to the presence of circus in Scotland’s cultural landscape. 

It is our hope that with a successful listing on the Living History of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Articulation will be better placed to work with funders and policymakers to secure a more sustainable future for Circus in Scotland. 

And that is where you come in. The UK is currently encouraging registrations to the Living History of ICH. Over the coming months Articulation will be collaboratively working towards a submission for Circus. 

We’re asking Circus artists, organisations, practitioners and anyone with an interest in the artform to get in touch. If you’re interested, we believe a representative submission is the best way forward. Together, we can work to better safeguard the future of this important and culturally diverse artform for years to come.