The National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) is Australia's Centre of Excellence in contemporary circus arts training, offering Australia's only Bachelor of Circus Arts. The course is accredited by Swinburne University of Technology and NICA is located at its Prahran campus. 

From humble beginnings in an unrenovated warehouse in the Melbourne Docklands, National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) ran a pilot national training project in 1999. All eight participants graduated with a Diploma of Circus Arts from Swinburne University in 2001 and found employment with Australian companies the following year.

NICA has now grown significantly offering Australia’s only Bachelor of Circus Arts as well as vocational education courses in circus arts. NICA has established a reputation in Australia and abroad for training artists to meet the demands of a growing local and international circus industry. Today there are more than 100 students across four year levels training full-time at NICA in Prahran.

We aim to showcase and develop Australian talent in the performing arts: the writers, directors and circus artists of tomorrow. We aim to equip them with the skills, networks and knowledge to establish a career on the world stage of circus and physical theatre, and to perform the role of cultural ambassadors for the Australian arts.

Some of the most important work that NICA does is not conducted in the NICA space. The circus workshops NICA conducts with Indigenous students in the Kimberley, Western Australia, and communities in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory establish training pathways for talented young people who may not otherwise consider a career in the arts.

Can you support NICA to achieve our mission?

EXCELLENCE
NICA will foster passion, creativity and a high level of skill in its graduates, who will be recognised as inspiring circus artists.

INNOVATION
NICA will deliver innovative training programs to talented students, whose work will reimagine circus and provide stimulating, evocative and sometimes challenging performances.

LEADERSHIP
NICA graduates and staff will take a leadership role in shaping the Australian circus arts industry.

ACCESS
NICA will provide opportunities for a wide range of participants in its courses, workshops and performance program.