The Digital Archive of Travelling Artists
Dive into the world of circus, variety and vaudeville - connected across time and borders.
Find the Threads. Follow the Stories.
Our growing digital archive lets you explore how performers, venues, and shows moved through history. It's part research tool, part inspiration engine - designed for artists, students, and anyone who's ever wanted to trace creative lineages across Europe and beyond.
Despite its significance in human cultures, entertainment is still widely regarded as something "less" than other forms of art. This attitude puts its cultural heritage in serious danger. Moreover, the memorabilia of touring performers and companies are scattered around the globe.
We developed and designed this space specifically for venues, travelling performers and their productions; let them be companies, artists or creators of any kind, anytime, anywhere in the world.
More about the project
This isn't just data. It's a living network of entertainment history. If you join, you can:
Follow creatives and performers across countries and decades
See how acts, styles and show formats shifted through the years
Elly
Ila Lorand
The Royal Girls
Discover the history of show venues
Trace surprising overlaps between places, people and productions
Elly
Ila Lorand
The Royal Girls
Every search is a story waiting to happen!
Recently Added Shows
Joining gives you
Full access to a growing network of performers, venues, and productions
Tools to explore, filter, and trace connections across time and space
Sources for stories of women and BIPOC performers, queer acts, and working-class entertainment
Research notes, links and references for articles and essays
The chance to support a living, growing cultural resource
You can support us without joining!
Do you have show documents in any language which we can use on the site? Contact us!
Make a one-time or recurring donation to help keep the archive growing and accessible. Your contribution can help us digitise more shows as well as developing new features of the site. Help us to preserve and rediscover lives, stories and art that would otherwise fade!
Make a one-time or recurring donation to help keep the archive growing and accessible. Your contribution can help us digitise more shows as well as developing new features of the site. Help us to preserve and rediscover lives, stories and art that would otherwise fade!
Motto: “No stage too small, no gift too small.”
Start Exploring!
Dive into a world of artists and stories waiting to be rediscovered and shape the future of cultural history!