MAD Festival is a new Antwerp circus platform. MAD offers residencies and master classes and supports emerging circus companies and artists, culminating in an annual four-day festival, linked to an international convention. Activities and public moments during the year give an insight and a taste of what grows and develops in the womb of MAD. MAD dares and surprises. MAD in Antwerp. MAD of circus. The first edition of MAD Festival will take place as from April 13th to April 16th 2023.
MAD Festival will bring the newest and most exciting circus from Antwerp, Flanders and abroad. MAD is looking for performances that can touch a broad audience, but are also innovative and quirky. Performances with an edge.
MAD Festival aims to offer an international circus convention with introductory classes, specialisation workshops, technical training and guest lectures. Young circus artists, youth circuses, semi-professional and professional circus artists can improve individually at their own level. Circus artists from Europe mingle at the festival with young people from different Flemish circus workshops. Teachers of circus studios and colleges, will exchange knowledge and make contacts for future exchanges with youngsters.
MAD Festival also focuses on a professionals program for meeting, reflexion and artist's talks. The Antwerp and Flemish circus network is shown to domestic and foreign professionals and press.
MAD Festival creates a place where circus artists graduating from local and foreign academies can meet, train and perform together. Thanks to collaboration with those academies, each edition will bring together an entire generation of circus artists at the festival before owning the international stages.
MAD Festival aims to show the unique atmosphere behind the circus scene. The festival will be a place for encounters between circus artists and the public, showing circus before and behind the scenes. The visitor becomes a travel companion, goes on a journey of discovery and experiences the circus world from within.