Aerial Art. House is a small independent Circus Arts and Fitness Centre based in Scotland, Edinburgh. It was founded in June 2017 and has been run by CirqArt C.I.C. since March 2019. We were born out of the need for a supportive community environment, with affordable physical exercise, in the Restalrig area. Aerial Art House aims to help and support vulnerable local people improve their physical and mental wellbeing, whilst developing bonds with their community. We are part of the Social Circus movement, which uses the medium of circus arts for social good. It works to empower participants find a sense of balance and coordination in their lives, and to build supportive networks in their community.
Do you live in the Restalrig/Lochend/Craigentinny? Enjoy all the benefits!
“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much” – Helen Keller
If you live in Restalrig, Lochend or Craigentinny, and want to be involved in projects that will benefit your community, we want to listen to your views! Become a member for £0 and help us make the world a better place, little by little
What are the benefits of being a member?
Get adults and kids classes discount at Aerial Art House
Take part in free activities
Have your say at our monthly meetings where we decide what activities and event are needed in our area
Get discount on studio hire for private parties or events
Receive accurate news and information about the events and activities we run at Aerial Art House direct to your inbox through our monthly newsletter
Show your support for the community
Have the chance to volunteer! Gain new skills, meet other people and make good friends!
Participate to special events and help organise them
It is FREE to be an active member of the community!
What is the plan? We are currently working on a few things and we need your help and advice to make them happen! All the activities will be free of charge for our members!
To hold regular open stage nights, where circus and visual artists can share their work with the community
To hold film screenings at Aerial Art House (daytime for kids and their parents, evenings for over 16s only). Members will have a final say on the cinema programme
To restart the Flying Family club – A time for parents and their 0 to 5-year-old kids to meet other families, play, chat, drink coffee or tea and maybe even try some circus equipment like aerial hammocks or trapeze
To start free classes such as yoga, aerial yoga and circus fitness, for community members
Circus provides patterned, repetitive, somatosensory, and relational activity that is regulating and healing for our lower brain. In turn, having a regulated lower brain impacts our overall regulation and the way that we organize, understand, and interpret our internal system as we move through the world
Circus provides us with a unique opportunity to expand our window of tolerance by providing us with safe and progressive opportunities to practice shifting between states. In circus, we’re faced with the physiological and emotional impact (arousal) of encountering activities that can feel scary or initially out of reach. As we ultimately find mastery of these skills within a safe and supportive context, we experience regulation and a physiological and emotional return to calm. This provides our bodies with an opportunity to “practice” moving between states in a safe way, and ultimately expands our window of tolerance.
Circus is fun, which makes this process of learning and growth satisfying and reinforcing in a way that isn’t always inherent when we’re doing work to move outside of our “nervous system comfort zone.” This enjoyment allows us to tolerate pushing through the uncomfortable states that we may encounter as we move ourselves beyond our current window of tolerance.
