Poetry, Pollinators & Performance Art: Clowning in the Streets

One of the most touching parts of the Nomadic Rebel Clown Academy is our invitation for participants to create individual actions on the final day. It’s a chance to see their political desires and creative expression made manifest on the streets, in public space, witnessed by the whole group.

An expansive warehouse circus space, Espai de Circ is our home for the week. It is located in Alboraya, a small village on the outskirts of Valencia, where the countryside meets the city—and the latter threatens to consume it.

Each day of our five-day training, we spill out into the streets, bike lanes, parks, and farther afield to Valencia’s tourist quarter. But on our final day, we wind, meander, and shuffle through the village itself, stopping on street corners, at the metro station, at zebra crossings, and in picturesque squares. As witnesses, we arrange ourselves along shady walls, in doorways, squeeze onto benches, and lean on trees to watch. A moment created, that each student has dreamed into being: the thing they would like to see in the world, inspired by the clown, by play, by the urge to commentate, or the desire to interrupt and disrupt public space—all the prompts of our week together.

There are many opportunities during the week to work together in collectives, navigating the challenges of group decision-making. Often this is the biggest learning. But here on the last day, a new invitation offers a chance to return to our individual aspirations, to empower each person to apply the learning—and hopefully take it with them when they depart.

As we cross the town, we witness the beautiful scope of how the clown emerges in this work:

As commentator
Ever the optimist, a joyful clown shows us around his new home: a park bench that costs 2,000 euros a month.

As tragic figure
We’re invited to become insects with one clown buzzing through the town between the meagre offerings of flowers and plants—bringing into sharp relief the lack of wildlife corridors through city spaces for our pollinators.

As provocateur
A clown invites the group to play football in a square before pointing out the sign saying “No ball games!” He tuts and points out the rules we have broken, despite his role as instigator and transgressor.

As perspective-shifter
A ladder is set up on a street corner, wrapped around by tall buildings. The invitation is to climb the ladder and look around. In this simple offering, participants gain new perspective of the space. While witnesses enjoy the spectacle and jeopardy as they climb higher and higher.

A clown walks in circles around a crossroads with four zebra crossings, not paying attention to the life around her, purely focused on her hand as a representation of a mobile phone.

As utopian hope-bringer
Two clowns invite us to experience the Commons by sharing conversation, connection, and (literally giving away) food to everyone who passes by.

As performance artist
With the provocation of “Move Me,” a topless clown is wrapped in tape and connected to a barrier. The group picks up the barrier to move them across a road and into a park. Unwrapping them risks nudity and vulnerability, creating a dilemma and choice between care and freedom.

As poet
Covering their head and buttoning their coat around a tree, the illusion is of a long-necked tree in a coat, with arms outstretched, gently moving in the breeze. It is a touching image, bringing many to tears as some go in to hug the tree.

These examples are just some of the generous, playful offerings, expressing a spectrum of possibilities: of the clown, of clowning, and of the creativity and heart of the participants.

Photos by @marastacca_photography