Look at all the landscapes of Nottingham and think about how the superheroes of culture here are leaping over the traffic jams of inequalities and changing things for the better.
Think of the partnerships and collaborations in Nottingham that are thinking hard about the way we plan, build, place make, buy, sell, learn, converse, grow, the way we dream, the way we serve, the way we work, walk, the way we live, the way we talk, the way we plan, the way we travel.
That’s our culture: DIY, Co-Creation, preparing the ground so people can grow their own futures. Take a look at Nottingham through the lens of skateboarding:
Above: Nottingham’s Skateparks: Valley Road, Standhill, Southwell, Southglade, Rushcliffe, Newstead, Netherfield, Mansfield, Long Eaton, Lady Bay, King Edwards Park, Keyworth, Josh Dale Colwick, Hucknall, Clifton, Burton Road, Arnold All credits 42 Guide To Nottingham Skateparks
Over many, many years the skateboarding community in Nottingham have worked in collaboration with more than twenty five partners (see at the bottom of this article) to create the ecosystem and conditions for Olympic and local excellence.
Chris Lawton, Simon Bernacki and Ben Taylor have created Skate Nottingham, a kind of energetic catalytic convertor community interest company to nurture the co-creation necessary for skateboarding to grow and develop. As well as the outdoor parks, there’s Flo Indoor Skatepark (5 Poulton Drive Nottingham NG2 4BN Tel 07863 130300) a charity now run by parents, teachers, skaters.
The result is an amazing skills, making, accessories and cultural hub where you can see how things work, can see how they’re growing and developing locally. 42 is Skate business on Victoria Street, a kind of youth skate retail a making, learning and developing skills facility.
Chris Lawton and skater Alex Hallford were interviewed on their boards outside Radio Nottingham (programme starts at 2 mins 13 seconds on Radio Nottingham). Alex is part of the Great Britain Team GB who will be representing Nottingham and skateboarding for the first time in the Tokyo Olympics next year.
When you think about the Market Square, Victoria Street, Hockley, Sneinton Market you can see how the flow of skateboarding energy (see Super 8, Tom Quigley) is creating a regenerative flow every day in Nottingham.
Nottingham Festival of Skateboarding: Skateboarding In The City 29th July -3rd August 2019
Come and see Nottingham through the vision of skate activist like Chris Lawton, local academic and skateboard wonder in Nottingham.
Skateboarding is skater led, parentally supported, lottery and charity helped to train, develop venues, opportunities that connect the local environment with physical skills, developing knowledge and physical resistance…
Friday 26 July 2019
17.00 – 19.00
Nottingham Skate Photography Exhibition, featuring the work of this year’s National Lottery Skate Photography Workshop participants alongside experienced mentors and industry legends.
Venue: The Photo Parlour, Nottingham, Karlsruhe House, Unit 8 18 Queensbridge Road 0115 9867776
Saturday 27 July and Sunday 28 July 2019
13.00 – 18.00
Nottingham Open Jam and Competition, in association with Forty Two Shop’s Scott Underdown, Rob Johnson and Girl Skate Gang Notts.
Jam with prizes and fundraising for mental health awareness and support services on Saturday (free entry). Bowl and street competition on Sunday (£2 registration fee for competitors, free for spectators) with cash prizes, product and giveaways.
Venue: Flo Indoor Skatepark Nottingham
Monday 29 July 2019
Radical Places, a skills and knowledge sharing workshop for skateboard educators, activists, community organisers and researchers. Book through Eventbrite.
Followed by public talks on transforming our cities through skateboarding with Professor Iain Borden (The Bartlett, UCL and author of Skateboarding and the City) and Mikko Kyrönviita (University of Tampere and coordinator of the Dwellers in Agile Cities programme). Read the full programme here.
Venue 1: 10.30-16.00 – 38 Carrington Street, Nottingham Urban Room (daytime, pre-booking required via Eventbrite)
Venue 2: 17.00-19.00 – Broadway Cinema Mezzanine Bar (early evening, all welcome with no pre-booking)
Tuesday 30 July 2019
19.00 – 23.00
Skateboarding in the City film night, in support of mental health awareness. Featuring the new Landscape video ‘Seasons’, the award-winning documentary ‘ABKHAZIA’ by Finnish film maker Vantte Lindevall, and finishing the night with the new film from Notts crew Dishonest.
Venue: The Chapel at the Old Angel Microbrewery
Tuesday 30 July to Thursday 1 August 2019
City Circuit skate filming competition – get a crew together of 3-4 skaters (including a filmer) and produce a short video edit, including skating installed obstacles in ‘unloved’ spaces through the city. There will be several jams with prizes at these spots. Submit your edit by midnight on Thursday 1st August.
Friday 2 August 2019
From 18.00 – till late
a special screening of Minding the Gap, the Sundance Award-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary by director Bing Liu charting the lives of 3 young skateboarders growing up in Rockford, Illinois. A rich, devastating essay on race, class and being a man in 21st-century America.
Followed by a Q&A Panel chaired by Skate Nottingham, featuring sponsored skaters, academics and front-line workers in domestic violence, education and employment advice services.
Venue: Broadway Cinema. A number of free tickets will be available
Saturday 3 August 2019
From 14.30
Screening of City Circuit video entries, announcement of winners and prizes. One team will be funded by Skate Nottingham to take part in Skate Malmö Street 2019 on 14-18 August in Malmö, Southern Sweden.
Venue: Broadway Cinema. A number of free tickets will be available
There will be a range of social activities, jams and competitions at street spots and skateparks to be announced throughout the week.
Our friends at Forty Two Shop will then be holding their monthly Sunday Circuit jam at Clifton skatepark on Sunday 4 August.
We are currently in the middle of a site rebuild. In the meantime if you need to get in touch please contact us at contact@skatenottingham.co.uk
(Chris works at NTU on how to make work a better thing: the Good Work Nottingham project run by NTU’s Civic Exchange Innovators Paula Black and Richard Pickford with input from work experts like Maria Karanika Murray and many more, is taking the problems we all think about (bad work) and connecting them to people in the community beyond the university)
People who love and support skateboarding in Nottingham
Skateboarders and their Parents
Skate Nottingham
42 19 Victoria St, Nottingham NG1 2EW
Dance4
Broadway
Blueprint Regeneration
Left Lion cultural newpsaper
Radio Nottingham Notts TV, East Midlands Today
Pushing Boarders Skateboard Culture Yearly Conference/events\House of Vans/VF
Long Live Southbank
Skateism
Re-verb Skateboarding
The Bartlett
UCL
Big Lottery and National Lottery Community Fund
Skate Photography Magazine
Skate Malmo
Sidewalk magazine
HangUP Magazine
King Edward park
Pictured: a world within a world on a piece of chewing gum by Ben Wilson.
signsofanopencity 
You must be logged in to post a comment.