The Int'l Social Circus comes to Mardin province

Social Circus is described as "a growing movement toward the use of circus arts as a medium for social justice and social good."
It uses alternative pedagogical tools to work with youth who are marginalized or at social or personal risk. Sirkhane, the Social Circus School run by the Art Anywhere Association, is devoted to offering workshops on circus arts, painting and music to the war-affected children in Mardin. The fourth IM International Social Circus Festival, which will be held from Sept. 10-20, will bear the fruits of their labor as local, Syrian, Afghan and Yazidi refugee children will perform the skills they have acquired along with their trainers. Since 2011, Art Anywhere has organized a number of events, projects and workshops in and around Mardin, with the aim of benefitting the local community and especially its youth and children and providing them with the chance to gain skills while also socializing. Art Anywhere's events are held outside, are open to everyone and include parades, live music and circus acts in which loc a l crowds gather, creating a sense of community.

Sirkhane is a social circus school run by Art Anywhere Association Volunteers that offers a creative space for Syrian, Yazidi and Afghan refugees as well as for the local Mardin youth to learn and practice circus skills, fine arts, music and theatre while also gaining important social skills such as teamwork, trust and self-confidence. Classes began at Sirkhane on July 1, led by a dynamic team of volunteers and trainers from Turkey, the U.S., Syria and Poland.