Artizani started in 1989 with an old Ford Escort van and a vision of making performances on the streets. 30+ years later we are still doing it, using all the lessons we learnt on the way (although the van died in 1994).
Since then we have won awards, been commissioned multiple times, secured ACE funding for several projects and toured all over the world and to most of the UK’s towns and cities.
We are experts in creating outdoor arts, time-served specialists in the form – we don’t just put art on the streets, we make art for the streets. Public space can be a challenging environment in which to perform and every street, square and park is unique. That is why we make shows that are flexible, respond to the space they are in and engage with the audiences we find there.
And we are not put off by a few drops of rain!
We span a range of outdoor arts work including small and large-scale static shows; walkabout; parade animations; installations; site-specific work; audience research and consultation. Our work is accessible and thought-provoking with high production values and a surreal twist. We deliver over 300 performances of our various shows a year to audiences in excess of 100,000 with our experienced team of up to 20 performers, makers, designers, writers and directors.
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Artizani’s artistic director, James Macpherson (BA Hons., MA, PhD Candidate), is one of only a tiny handful of people involved in scholarly research into outdoor arts and the way it impacts on place and community. This research underpins the company’s approach and our commitment to the democratisation of art
