CLIMB is an international leadership training program promoted by Circostrada and co-organized with Outdoor Arts Italia, aimed at professionals with directorial, coordination or management roles in the performing arts in public space and contemporary circus sector.
The first edition, hosted by Outdoor Arts Italia in collaboration with Liv.in.g., will take place from March 18 to 20, 2026 at Castello di San Sebastiano Po, in Piedmont. The program will bring together a small group of 15 participants - 10 members from Circostrada and 5 from Outdoor Arts Italia - for three intense residential days dedicated to coaching, peer-to-peer exchanges, workshops and guided reflection moments oriented towards equitable, sustainable and inclusive leadership practices. The choice of an isolated location immersed in nature aims to create a protected and concentrated space, conducive to intensive work, relationship building and shared reflection.
The path is centered on leadership as a concrete and relational practice, designed to address complex and constantly transforming cultural contexts. Among the main themes are decision-making capacity, responsibility, trust, equity, care for relationships and collective work, with particular attention to the skills necessary to operate in situations of uncertainty and change.
The format is immersive and strongly based on the group dimension, favoring exchange among professionals from different countries and contexts and creating a collaborative and intensive learning space. The entire path is conceived as a learning "bubble" in which analytical stimuli on contemporary transformations constantly dialogue with practice, collective reflection and concrete experimentation. Informal peer exchanges, shared creation moments, nature walks and thematic workshops offer multiple spaces for discussion, allowing participants to bring their own organizational challenges to the center of the process and address them together, through direct experience as well as reflection.
Three international experts are involved as moderators: Giuliana Ciancio, Luisella Carnelli and Dea Vidovic, who will accompany participants in exploring how cultural leadership is changing in light of profound contemporary political, social and organizational transformations.
The continuous interaction between facilitators and participants defines the rhythm of activities, keeping content always anchored to real situations. The program also includes meetings with local stakeholders, researchers, artists and institutional representatives, with the aim of enriching the learning ecosystem, fostering an interdisciplinary perspective and generating unexpected connections. Over the course of the three days, the goal is to progressively build a shared language of contemporary cultural leadership: a dynamic set of practices, concepts and tools that participants can bring back to their own organizations as a resource for action, reflection and change.
A second session of CLIMB is planned for autumn 2026 in the Czech Republic, organized in collaboration with the Czech contemporary circus network Asociace nového cirkusu.
Registration closed on February 9. To stay informed about the program and its developments, follow the updates published on this page.
