Circus Oz Living Archive

The Circus Oz Living Archive was created between 2010 and 2014 through an Australian Research Council Linkage Project led by David Carlin, with Adrian Miles, Peta Tait, James Thom and Laurene Vaughan. The Living Archive was designed and built by a highly skilled team from RMIT University, including Reuben Stanton, Lukman Iwan and Kim Baston. (For full credits see the link on the homepage).

This site is not currently adding video content but it includes documentation of performances, interviews, rehearsals, documentaries and promotional footage from the 1970s to 2012. The project is important as it protects Circus Oz's video footage from further deterioration and provides an opportunity to share its history with a wider audience. The Living Archive enables people to add their own stories and anecdotes to the videos. In this way we hope to build a rich, multi-layered, many-voiced history of this iconic Australian company.

In 2020, it was restored by a team at the University of Melbourne, working with David Carlin and Circus Oz company members and associates including Laurel Frank, Anni Davey, Mike Finch, Georgine Clarsen and Jesse Jensen-Kohl. There are plans to make it available again for public access, and to engage the Circus Oz community, scholars and fans to contribute more rich metadata, images and stories.