En Piste’s Robin des Bois was held on April 24 in the warm atmosphere of the restaurant 2025 AGM-Forum, located in the heart of La Fontaine Park, bringing together over 120 members and partners from the sector. The day, marked by participation and collective reflection, allowed for a review of the past year’s major advancements and a look towards the future.
Forum — Funding Circus Arts Differently
Following its AGM, En Piste held a stimulating forum on the funding of circus arts — a space for reflection on its potential, development, and possible avenues for diversification.
Titled Funding Circus Arts Differently, the forum offered a series of conferences and group workshops exploring alternative avenues, such as crowdfunding, strategic collaborations, community engagement, and innovative models inspired by other sectors. The starting point: breaking away from the traditional framework.
The Six Guest Speakers emphasized the importance of rethinking the circus’s economic model by leveraging the strengths of the sector — its unique journeys, strong networks, and diverse skills. By focusing on human, strategic, and bold approaches, circus arts can reassert their relevance as a future-oriented art form, capable of shining in both major centers and peripheral regions.
Conferences and Presentation of Inspiring Models
An expert in philanthropy and digital transformation, Clément Roy invited artists to adopt a proactive stance on funding, highlighting their vision as well as the uniqueness and attractiveness of their artistic proposal. Former circus artist turned financial strategist, Gonzalo Coloma emphasized the intrinsic value of circus arts and their potential to uniquely touch individuals. As an art that inspires wonder, it can find its place everywhere, including in small towns. The core of a funding strategy lies in the artist’s authenticity and their ability to surround themselves with the right people (mentors, advisory board, experts).
At the helm of Écoscéno, Anne-Catherine Lebeau introduced the organization, which combines eco-design, reuse, and support to advance cultural practices towards greater sustainability. Through the evaluation of its impact (notably in tons of reused materials), its influence on enriching the artistic process of creators, and by highlighting the benefits of a circular economy applied to culture, the entity proves that it is possible to reconcile art, ecology, and economic viability.
Finally, Joanie Leroux-Côté, an expert in business strategy and export, and a former circus artist, invited artist-entrepreneurs to structure their development around clear values, rigorous planning, and a strategic vision consistent with their artistic identity.
Co-reflection Circles
En Piste invited participants to gather in co-reflection circles to devise funding and collaboration strategies, based on randomly selected project examples. In small groups of five, they spent approximately three hours assuming the role of entrepreneurs to collectively reflect on projects associated with specific funding methods, also drawn by lot. These circles fostered a free flow of ideas, enabling mutual enrichment and leading to the presentation of solutions that were both innovative and entirely surprising.
Word Cloud
During the day, participants were invited to choose a word (other than “money”) that best represented their current professional need. Among all the responses collected, time, human resources, administration, community, recognition, collaboration, training, and venues were among the most frequently cited.
Board of Directors
En Piste’s Board of Directors welcomed new members. These include Frédérique Cournoyer Lessard, Maxim Laurin, and Guillaume Boulay from FLIP Fabrique, and Kim Polisois from École Horizon – Soleil de St-Eustache. We extend our congratulations and a warm welcome to them on the board. Their experience and passion will undoubtedly enrich our discussions and our mission. They join Tim Roberts, Rosalie Beauchamp, Alice Kop, Maude Arseneault, Éric Langlois, Mélanie-Beby Robert, Anahareo Dölle, Raphaël Dubé, Olivia Gomez, Karine Lavoie and Nathalie Nicolas.
We warmly thank the outgoing members — Marie-Hélène Côté, Stéphane Lavoie, Irena Purschke and Danielle Fournier — for their commitment and valuable contributions.
Conclusion
En Piste thanks all the speakers and those who proposed concrete avenues to strengthen the financial autonomy of circus arts without compromising its values. The presentations remind us that by embracing their role as cultural entrepreneurs, artists can forge their own path, open themselves to new partnerships, and make their art shine in its full power.
