Interview with Jo Smith - CircusWA

Jo Smith is Artistic Director of CircusWA – the Fremantle-based youth circus arts centre.Throughout the 90’s she worked between Sichuan-China, Darwin and Perth studying and teaching sociology and linguistics while developing an arts practice in Live Art (performance installation). Her art practice was informed by her academic research and used site, material and the body to reflect these ideas. In 2006 she moved to the Great Southern and took up her first arts management role as Coordinator and Director of local festivals. In Denmark she headed the Brave New Works community arts festival and in Albany their readers and writers festival Write In the Great Southern. In 2014 she returned to Perth to head AusdanceWA’s award winning program Future Landings as Creative-Producer with regionally based dance artists. Since 2017 she has guided the survival and rejuvenation of CircusWA in Fremantle. Jo Smith kindly agree to meet with our Editor, Michael Barker, to discuss circus, funding for circus, and the ambitions of CircusWA. It is a timely interview as CircusWA is looking for a new Freo-based home.You can read the full story on Fremantle Shipping News here. Support the show