What’s more daring than a performer on rollerblades or a bike weaving through a minefield of fragile ceramics? Julian Vogel invites you to a show that doesn’t just play with your expectations—it poeticizes our obsession with risk and ruin. With every breath, movement, and drumroll, the tension reaches a fever pitch.
We are thrilled to announce the Swish-French “Ceramic Circus” for this year’s Carnaval Sztukmistrzów, taking place in Lublin from July 23–26, 2026.
About this year’s festival
Our slogan “Run Away With The Circus” is more than just a catchphrase; it’s your official invitation to leave your worries and “to-do” lists behind. Dive headfirst into a world of laughter, joy, and pure spontaneity. Now is the perfect time to start planning your Lublin adventure!
As always, you’ll find New Circus art filling our city streets and theatrical stages. But this year, we’re making history: for the first time, we are welcoming audiences to the massive Opera Hall at the Centre for the Meeting of Cultures (CSK). This world-class venue allows us to host grand-scale spectacles previously beyond our reach—like the Franco-Swiss masterpiece “Ceramic Circus” by Julian Vogel / Cie. Unlisted.
About the show
In this solo performance, Julian Vogel blurs the lines between contemporary circus, visual art, and performance. The tension builds alongside a relentless snare drum rhythm that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.
“Does the obsessive desire to see how long a tremolo can last appeal to the audience?” asks a reviewer from The Circus Diaries.
The answer? Absolutely. “The show is about obsession—about trying to control the uncontrollable.”
At its heart, the show is a high-stakes game of contrasts: noise vs. silence, chaos vs. order, and lightness vs. danger.
The performance unfolds as a series of hypnotic images where precision meets peril and control dances with the unpredictable. Surrounded by ceramic plates wobbling on thin rods, Vogel builds a world entirely his own—a place governed by its own logic, where every tiny detail matters and the smallest movement feels like a monumental event.
It’s so beautifully unpredictable that you’ll quickly forget what you even expected to see in the first place. Your only moment of “calm”? A ceramic sphere spinning wildly over the artist’s head, serving as both a mesmerizing centerpiece and a pulse-pounding counterpoint to the action.
Catch the show on July 25 and 26. Tickets will be available soon! Seats are limited, so keep a close eye on our social media, visit our website, or sign up for our newsletter to grab yours first.
Meet Julian Vogel
After studying Psychology and Art History in Bern, Julian graduated from the Academy of Circus and Performance Art (ACaPA) in Tilburg, specializing in diabolo. He is a circusnext 2020/21 laureate, an associate artist at House of Panama, and a multidisciplinary force working as a performer, dramaturg, and music producer across Europe.
[WATCH THE TRAILER]
Carnaval Sztukmistrzów
The largest festival in Poland showcasing contemporary circus arts. For years, the event has drawn crowds of residents and tourists, attracted by top-tier circus acts and the festival’s magical atmosphere. The programme includes clowning, acrobatics, and juggling, illusion and emotional circus theatre, attractions for children and live concerts. The festival is also joined by Urban Highline, the world’s oldest and largest highline festival in an urban setting. While most of the program is free and takes place in streets and squares, select events are ticketed and held in theatres and concert halls.
Details
23-26 July 2026
Old Town and Blonia near the Castle
Admission free. Selected events are ticketed