Reimagining Circus Funding to Secure Its Future
Circus holds immense, yet still underutilized, potential when it comes to funding. By exploring avenues such as immersive sponsorship, modernized narratives, strategic collaborations, and bold inspiration, the sector can diversify its resources and secure a stronger place in the cultural and economic landscape. It's time to be bold, to innovate, and to show that circus is an art form of the future.
Who the forum is for:
This forum is open to all members of the circus arts community: artists, researchers, educators, students, and enthusiasts. It’s a valuable opportunity to engage in thought-provoking and enriching discussions.
On the agenda:
11:00 a.m. 0Discussion
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. 0Inspiring presentations
2:00 p.m. Conference
2:30 p.m. Pause
3:00 p.m. Co-reflection circles
4:15 p.m. Feedback session
5:00 p.m. 5@Cirque
Registration is now open. Stay tuned for more information on our speakers. To make sure you don’t miss the latest forum updates, follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter.
Join us on April 24 for our Annual General Meeting and an exciting day of reflection, sharing, and inspiration on the importance of funding diversification. We look forward to seeing you there!
The En Piste Team
Beyond public support: financing the circus arts with a human approach - 11:00 a.m.
Join us for a fascinating conversation, moderated by Mathilde Perahia, with Gonzalo Coloma, former circus artist turned entrepreneur and financial expert, and Clément Roy, a player committed to the development of philanthropy in the circus arts and founder of Nucléus Stratégie, a support organization dedicated to digital transformation in the cultural sector. Drawing on their distinctive backgrounds, they will share their experiences and various perspectives possible in circus financing, with a human-centered approach.
Mathilde Perahia
Mathilde Perahia holds a doctorate from Concordia University. Now an independent researcher and artist, she focuses on the relationship between the evolution of circus performance forms and that of social representations. As a social circus instructor in various programs and a tightrope artist, she explores practices that place the body at the center of an approach to changing one's relationship to the world. In this context, her experience of motherhood has led her to a creative project on the theme of becoming a mother.
Clément Roy
Clément Roy is an entrepreneur and the founder of Nucléus Stratégie, a company specialized in digital transformation that supports businesses in Québec and Nova Scotia. Clément plays an active role in the cultural sector as co-president of the Young Philanthropists Circle of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and administrator of the Conseil des arts de Montréal. Nucléus Stratégie contributes to the sector's dynamism by combining digital innovation and philanthropy through initiatives such as donations, rebates and customized coaching in support of the digital transition in the cultural field.
Gonzalo Coloma
After graduating as an engineer in Peru, Gonzalo “ran away with the circus,” performing with Cirque du Soleil, Disney, and even the 2026 Turin Olympics before founding two touring circus companies that he successfully brought to over twenty countries. Seeking new challenges, he earned an MBA at HEC Montréal, specializing in finance and small business growth. He later became CFO of Furniture Atelier, leading it through COVID. Now, as founder of Aha! Fractional, Gonzalo provides strategic financial leadership to businesses.
Inspiring Models - 1:00 p.m.
In this hour, we'll discover three innovative models that place people and community at the heart of the organization: Robin des Bois, Écoscéno and La Ruche. These organizations will present their inspiring approaches to leading, developing and pooling resources, highlighting the values, skills and terminologies specific to the models they represent.
Founded in 2006, the Robin des Bois restaurant is a non-profit organization with a distinctive social vocation. It promotes volunteer involvement, fosters social reintegration and provides direct support to community associations, offering donations of food, money, access to their facilities and much more. Its actions are guided by its values of inclusion, respect, teamwork, belonging and development.
Founded in 2019, Écoscéno is a non-profit organization dedicated to making cultural practices more environmentally sustainable. By promoting the reuse of materials, offering eco-design training, and supporting artistic teams, Écoscéno provides concrete solutions to reduce the environmental footprint of productions. Its work is rooted in a vision of the circular economy and driven by values of sustainability, solidarity, creativity, and a commitment to a more responsible cultural sector.
Founded in 2013, La Ruche is a fully Quebec-based crowdfunding platform that supports the participatory financing of projects with social, economic, or cultural impact across the province. By connecting project leaders with contributors and offering personalized support, workshops, and resources, La Ruche fosters the emergence of local initiatives and contributes to regional economic development.
Reconciling passion and profit - 2:45 p.m.
Joanie Leroux-Côté, expert in business strategy, finance and export, shares concrete solutions based on her experience. She draws parallels between the challenges of artist-entrepreneurs and those of SMEs, offering innovative approaches adapted to the realities of the circus arts milieu.
Joanie Leroux-Côté
Joanie Leroux-Côté is an expert export consultant with a territory in Japan, South Korea and India, with expertise in business strategy, public relations, operations, finance and export on local and international markets in the creative industries ecosystem. She notably spent 10 years with the circus company Les 7 Doigts, where she held the position of Vice-President in charge of strategy and development.
Joanie Leroux-Côté holds a Master's degree in Management from HEC Montréal and is a graduate of the École nationale de cirque de Montréal. She has completed the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT) certification program offered by Export Development Canada (EDC). Co-founder and President of the cultural organization D'Arts et de Rêves in Sutton, she has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Quebec-Japan Business Forum since 2021.
Co-reflection circles - 3:15 p.m.
En Piste invites you to join co-reflection circles on funding strategies and collaboration opportunities to help develop our projects and activities in a coherent and sustainable way. For once, why not step into the shoes of an entrepreneur—just for the duration of a workshop? Drawing from both real and fictional case studies, we’ll unleash our creativity and curiosity, and put our skills to work in exploring new possibilities.
Co-reflection circles unleash a form of collective intelligence. By bringing together a variety of profiles in small groups with different skills and experience, these circles become real spaces for creativity. Ideas circulate freely and can be mutually enriched, leading to innovative and sometimes unexpected solutions.
