Exploring the playspace of Newcastle upon Tyne...
What’s the big idea?
Skateboarders explore the city as you move through, over and across Newcastle. Skaters have a better feel for how the city is, the architecture, layout & secret places, than many other passers-by....even if they are sometimes banned, moved on or segregated. This project explores the skaters’ Newcastle through your images, videos and maps.
Who is involved and why?
Northern Architecture and Dance City hooked up with geographers at Northumbria University. Northern Architecture? - How people use, reinvent and explore buildings and cities is pure architecture.
Dance City? - How you move, explore and define space is as much the streets as it is about the dance studio.
Geography? - Space, place and how you respond to it are classic geography (and we are doing some mapping).
What do we want to find out?
Where do skaters go? When? Favourite sites? How to these change? Where are Newcastle & Gatesheads’ special spaces? Your world.
Where will this lead?
To Dance City in June 2010 (probably the 19th but that is TBC), as part of the North East festival of Architecture, unveiling with a psychogeography map, videos, photos in which skaters get to show off their Newcastle.
Psychogeography?
How you feel about a place, likes, dislikes, favourites, horrors
What we want to avoid
Researching other people’s worlds can be cynical; so called “extractive research” where experts turn up, collect data, write up obscure, grand articles and are never heard of again. This is about working together, representing and respecting your worlds.
How is this going to get done?
By joining in. Adam Jenson, a geography student and skater at Northumbria University is leading the work, building links, chatting to skaters. Mike Jeffries will be doing some mapping work, mostly in Native Skates (if you’ve been in recently he’s probably collared you to draw something!). Jon Swords is helping with the mapping work too.
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