CIRCA
CIRCA is a London-based public art platform, founded in 2020 by Josef O'Connor, that commissions contemporary artists each month to display short moving-image works on global public screens, including Piccadilly Lights, and sells related limited edition prints.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What CIRCA does
CIRCA (legally CIRCA Art Limited) is a London-based public art platform founded in 2020 by artist Josef O'Connor. The company commissions a different contemporary artist each month to create a short moving-image work that is broadcast daily on public screens worldwide — most prominently at Europe's largest advertising screen, the Piccadilly Lights in London — at 20:20/20:26 local time, interrupting commercial programming. Its screen network spans 10+ cities across 5 continents, including London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Milan (multiple sites), Rome, Seoul, and African locations in Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Johannesburg.
The core product is the monthly commission stream, supplemented by an e-commerce shop selling limited edition prints and artist merchandise (e.g., Ai Weiwei first drawing in fifty years at £450; Emma Talbot hand-signed edition at £100), a 12-month print subscription product, the annual CIRCA Prize (launched 2023), and a newsletter. Underlying operations are lean — the company lists 14 employees and operates from a single registered office at 13 Hague Street, London — with media space at Piccadilly Lights donated by landlord Landsec.
The business model blends three revenue streams: one-time licensing/commission partnerships, one-time direct-to-consumer sales of limited edition prints and merchandise, and recurring annual print subscriptions. Customer segments are predominantly consumer: general public viewing broadcasts and a collector base purchasing limited editions, with institutional adjacency via partners such as Whitechapel Gallery and Collezione Maramotti through the Max Mara Art Prize for Women. The operating concept — branded the #CIRCAECONOMY — frames each commission as funding the next in a circular model supported by press coverage in outlets such as The Guardian, The Art Newspaper, and Evening Standard.
CIRCA firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CIRCA
- Legal name
- CIRCA Art Limited
- Website
- https://circa.art
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CIRCA is a London-based public art platform, founded in 2020 by Josef O'Connor, that commissions contemporary artists each month to display short moving-image works on global public screens, including Piccadilly Lights, and sells related limited edition prints.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CIRCA industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Art Platform
- NAICS
- Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Live-Action Short-Form Production (Short Films, Web Series) (MPADABAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Performing Arts Centers & Presenters (Programming/Booking) (MPAGABAM)
Keywords
Where CIRCA is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
CIRCA business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Art Commissions: CIRCA commissions screen editions for public display from prominent contemporary artists, creating moving image works broadcast across global public screens.
- Limited Edition Prints and Merchandise: Sale of limited edition prints and merchandise created in collaboration with commissioned artists. Products include hand-signed prints, books, and other artist-approved editions.
- Subscriptions: Twelve-month subscription model providing print copies of new commissions to subscribers. Print subscription copies delivered within 30 days from beginning of each new commission launch.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Limited Edition Prints |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Subscription |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
CIRCA product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CIRCA commissions a different contemporary artist each month to create a new moving image work that is broadcast daily on a global network of public screens, including the iconic Piccadilly Lights in London. Each commission is accompanied by a limited edition print and merchandise offering, with subscribers receiving physical prints through a 12-month subscription model. The platform operates under the #CIRCAECONOMY circular funding model where each commission sustains the next.
Product overview
CIRCA is a public art platform that commissions contemporary artists to create moving image works displayed on public screens globally. The core offering consists of monthly screen commissions presented on screens worldwide (including London's Piccadilly Lights), combined with a shop selling limited edition prints and merchandise. The platform operates through the #CIRCAECONOMY model where each commission funds the next, supported by a newsletter subscription and the annual CIRCA Prize competition. Artists create two-minute works that interrupt commercial programming daily at 20:20/20:21 local time, with content also archived online for remote viewing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CIRCA Screen Commissions Monthly moving image commissions from contemporary artists, displayed as daily two-minute broadcasts at 20:26 local time on CIRCA's global public screen network including Piccadilly Lights in London. Each commission is a standalone creative work made for public viewing.
- CIRCA Shop Direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront selling limited edition prints, books, hand-signed editions, and merchandise created in collaboration with CIRCA-commissioned artists.
- Limited Edition Prints
Quantifiable outcome
- CIRCA has been running since October 2020 with monthly artist commissions
Companies that use CIRCA
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
CIRCA technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
CIRCA partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- LandseccoreLandsec, landlord of Piccadilly Lights, donated media space to enable CIRCA's presence at Europe's largest advertising screen in London's Piccadilly Circus. This partnership has been essential to establishing CIRCA's primary venue and global recognition.
- The ShowroomcoreCIRCA's first collaborative project with another public art space, The Showroom in London, for the Cauleen Smith COVID Manifesto commission in November 2020. The partnership marked an expansion of CIRCA's collaborative approach to commissioning.
- Whitechapel GallerysupportingPartner in the Max Mara Art Prize for Women collaboration. Whitechapel Gallery co-organizes the prize and has presented major solo exhibitions of winning artists including Emma Talbot. Supports CIRCA's connection to institutional art world.
- Collezione MaramottisupportingItalian partner for the Max Mara Art Prize for Women, organizing six-month Italian residency for winning artists. Also a supporter of CIRCA 2021 programme, providing institutional backing and exhibition opportunities for commissioned artists.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CIRCA competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Refik Anadol Studio: Studio producing data-driven moving image and AI artworks displayed on large public screens and in museum contexts. Emerging peer in the digital moving-image art space that increasingly occupies the same screens and institutional venues as CIRCA commissions.
- Artsy: Online marketplace and media platform for collecting and discovering contemporary art. Comparable to CIRCA as an adjacent channel that connects contemporary art audiences, collectors, and editorial content, though focused on the transactional side of the market.
- Superblue: Experiential art platform producing and presenting immersive contemporary artist projects in dedicated venues. Comparable to CIRCA in operating a public-facing artist commissioning model with commercial ticketing and merchandise revenue.
Direct peers
- Meow Wolf: Artist-founded experiential art company creating immersive, large-scale installations open to the public. Comparable to CIRCA in building a participatory art platform that combines artist commissions with public-facing venues and branded retail/merchandise revenue.
- Public Art Fund: New York-based nonprofit that commissions contemporary artists to present work in public spaces. Direct peer in operating a commissioning platform for contemporary artists and staging work in high-traffic public venues.
- teamLab: Art collective producing immersive digital and moving image installations displayed in public and commercial spaces worldwide. Directly comparable to CIRCA for commissioning-led digital art made for large-scale public presentation and monetizing through exhibitions, merchandise, and ticketed experiences.
- Creative Time: Public art organization producing artist commissions in non-traditional public spaces. Comparable to CIRCA's model of curating contemporary artist projects that engage general public audiences outside conventional gallery walls.
Broad incumbents
- Pace Gallery: Major global contemporary art gallery representing many of the same blue-chip artists CIRCA has commissioned, including teamLab. Broad incumbent in the same artist ecosystem that supplies CIRCA's programming pipeline.
- The Shed: New York arts center commissioning and presenting contemporary artists across disciplines to public audiences. Adjacent as a larger, institutionally funded presenter of contemporary art commissions to general audiences.
- David Zwirner: Leading global contemporary art gallery representing high-profile artists whose work CIRCA has also presented publicly. Broad incumbent providing the institutional primary-market context for many of the same artists.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CIRCA social profiles
Digital presenceCIRCA financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CIRCA leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
CIRCA funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CIRCA M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CIRCA
What does CIRCA do?
CIRCA commissions a different contemporary artist each month to create a new moving image work that is broadcast daily on a global network of public screens, including the iconic Piccadilly Lights in London. Each commission is accompanied by a limited edition print and merchandise offering, with subscribers receiving physical prints through a 12-month subscription model. The platform operates under the #CIRCAECONOMY circular funding model where each commission sustains the next.
Is CIRCA a public or private company?
CIRCA is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was CIRCA founded?
CIRCA was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CIRCA based?
CIRCA is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does CIRCA make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Art Commissions are the primary driver. The others are limited Edition Prints and Merchandise and subscriptions.
Who are CIRCA's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Refik Anadol Studio, Artsy and Superblue. Direct peers are Meow Wolf, Public Art Fund, teamLab and Creative Time. Broad incumbents are Pace Gallery, The Shed and David Zwirner.
Does CIRCA have an API?
No public API is recorded for CIRCA.
What industry is CIRCA in?
CIRCA's product category is Public Art Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADABAE, Live-Action Short-Form Production (Short Films, Web Series), with a secondary code of MPAGABAM, Performing Arts Centers & Presenters (Programming/Booking). Its NAICS code is 711510 and its SIC code is 7812.