The awesome powerhouse that is performer, director & producer Malia Walsh (Circus Trick Tease) has started a new initiative called the Hand2Hand Incentive. Suppling seed funding for experimental new work.
All of the info, how to apply etc is on the Trick Tease Website but I wanted to know more about this from the creator herself, so I slung Malia some questions to find out more. And even though she is in the middle of producing a show at the biggest arts festival in the world and raising 2 small children she took the time to answer!
Hope you get stuff from this interview and thanks for the time Malia!
x Hamish – Carnival Cinema Creative Director
You’ve launched a great new initiative Hand2Hand – Can you explain what it is?
Errrr miiii gawd Hamish! It was just meant to be a small gesture to the arts community to encourage people to make weird work. It’s now this amazing huge thing where small independent companies have come out of the woodwork to help fund new Aussie circus.
In a nutshell, Hand2hand Incentive is funding experimental new work which do not easily fit existing grant processes or are otherwise unable to fund a work themselves. Successful applicants will be chosen at random and will receive $2k advance or to use towards a presentation. Artists are to “hand” back the funds to the Hand2Hand at the end of their showing to be recycled by another artist in the next round in 2020. Thus, creating a creative “seed” to grow and pass on in a virtuous circle from artist to artist.
Supporters include Spin Circus, Highwire Entertainment, Two Up Circus, Glitter Fart and the Australian Cultural Fund have just set us up to receive tax-deductible donations… if you don’t know about the AFC, it’s amazing, google that.
We have enough to “seed” 5 projects in 2019. It is incredibly exciting!
Where did the idea come from and what pushed you to take it from idea to reality?
I have to shout out to Shannon and Farhad here, those two guys have giant hearts and loads of talent. Their generosity in coaching and brilliant outlook on life created this before those two my focus was more about scamming free shots than anything community-minded.
Chris Carlos also inspired a part of it too. Witnessing people after trying a new thing on stage at his Spin Fest is like seeing a volcano of emotions, it could burn down a city or create an island. Thank goodness for sharing events like these.
But the core was actually from a simple post on FB. Lucy Frost sent out a thank you after her debut season, she mentioned me and my heart exploded. We had been talking a lot about putting on shows and I told her to “fuck it all and back herself”… she did and had an amazing season with all the excitement and hardship of a festival run. It takes a huge amount of courage to put everything on the line and create a solo work, especially at a fringe away from for home town. Apparently, my words helped and it made me wanna do more.
Hand2hand is a way of shouting “back yourself” via megaphone… and the community backs you too.
The recipients are going to be ‘randomly picked’ – what will this look like and what’s the reasoning behind that?
Hand2Hand is about celebrating having the guts to put something on stage rather than how well written a pitch is. I’ve put some guidelines in the application to ensure artists have thought through the basics of putting on a show, we can’t give away the funds and need to know the seed will be handed back or the incentive will be very short-lived.
Selecting a random recipient removes any bias from the selection process, giving everyone an even chance.
We put our art, heart and soul on-stage before an audience. It’s scary, it’s hard, it’s excruciating. Let’s take the pressure off a little by not judging performers or their idea before the first rehearsal.
Also, it will be brilliant to throw a big party and pull names out of a hat to find the winners. That is going to be super fun.
What’s your take on the current ‘traditional’ funding climate in Australia for small to medium companies? – I know this is a broad question, talk on it however you see fit.
I am a huge fan of traditional funding, Hand2Hand is intended to be a stepping stone for more circus to apply. Traditional funding can feel extremely daunting and competitive, but it doesn’t have to feel that way. I would recommend applying to every round, don’t expect to be successful and use it as an educational creative process. Use it to work out what you want your work to say, use it to clear up your language and thought process.
It gives you a hard deadline, it gives you a goal… it’s actually really ace.
How would you like to see it (Traditional Funding) change?
I’m not sure it needs to change. Yes, the system works incredibly well for some companies and not at all for others but we should be grateful that it is there at all.
I feel there is a gap in the system where we encourage the process rather than the work… if you want something to change, action that thought. Hand2hand is celebrating having the guts to put something on stage as that is where we learn the hardest lessons.
If you don’t agree with the way funding is functioning, go have a meeting with Creative Victoria or reframe your creative process. Most of my work doesn’t fit into the funding mould so I work a ton of corporate jobs to pay for creation. Yes, it’s hard for artists but here in Australia, we are blessed with the choice to be an artist, for that I am grateful.
This is a great way for more financially successful companies to support the wider ‘circus’ community – what draws you to support it and what does that community mean to you personally?
I’m not sure our company is financially successful, I don’t own a home or pretty shoes. I pay myself $300pw and put the rest back into CTT, this is why Hand2Hand is possible. I see a massive need for financial support in the community, I see it causing unsuitability and sometimes depression and I’m willing to make a small sacrifice to maybe relieve some of that pre-show stress.
To me, community is embracing everyone even if you don’t like their work, it is still a vital thread in our big top.
In your experience – What are some of the ingredients new small companies need to create sustainability and longevity?
I got a bit of a list here:
Work with kind people, avoid the haters.
Save your money, good fortune is short-lived in the arts.
Create a corporate act to help pay the bills.
Be bold, be brave and stay true to your art.
Ask for advice, people love to help.
Get professionals to make things, ie – don’t make your own posters (unless you’re a graphic designer), it costs more now but it brings in punters.
Don’t blame other people for your crappy season. Own it and learn from it.
Always present well, you never know who is in the audience.
Find a mentor, take classes, keep learning.
Love your techs and FOH, they work way harder than you do.
Dig your claws in and don’t give up.
And what advice would you give to people just starting small companies?
It’s superfine to make mistakes, we all have. You will learn way more from a bad season than a good one and be grateful for those lessons.
Success is not always finite, it is often a wandering path in the arts… sometimes the speed bumps are actually rocket launchers.
what is some advice they should ignore?
That the arts is glamorous.
What’s the dream for Hand2hand?
We would like to be able to seed 10 projects every year. We actually have 6 this year and 8 in 2020. It’s still in its early days so I’ll need to see how it runs for a while but in the very long term, I would like run a festival and have all these random shows under one roof.
Ultimately, I love to see some of the projects we help become super big and then they can fund their own seed.
How can other companies get involved?
Apply, tell your students and colleagues to apply. Create something!
Running a small company yourself as well as being a mum of two and maintaining a partnership – what does your ‘downtime’ look like? How do you look after your mental health?
To be honest, I’ve had a rough time lately, it’s been a really fucking hard year for me for a few reasons. More tears than I care to admit actually. I cope by being kind to strangers and going out of my way to make sure people feel strong. I hope to add to a growing culture of care and support, this hope and action gets me through.
It creates more work for me but when it’s positive, it’s energising and for me that is healing.
You’re a patched Clown Pirate/CC member and huge supporter – how does Carnival Cinema fit into your sense of community? If at all.
I love your mission to archive footage, photographs and chase the individual story. It’s inspiring, exciting and makes us think that these little shows will stay in our minds. We love wearing your hoodies and feel there is a collective pride in it. I love seeing your clown out in another city, I often run and hug them before I know their face.
Thank you and huge big ups to Malia for creating this awesome community-minded project!
Applications are open now until the 1st of September! Head to the Trick Tease Website for all the info.
Apply for the initiative and help by spreading the word to all your Australian performing mates.
Follow the Hand2Hand Facebook HERE.
Hand2Hand is currently supported by the excellents folks from: Two Up Circus, Spin Circus, Highwire Entertainment, Glitter Fart and the Australian Cultural Fund
Follow Circus Trick Tease on:
To find out more of Malia’s story you can check out our Feature Interview with her from 2018 HERE.
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