Skate and Create – January-March 2020 Workshop Programme
Conor Andrews, 360 Flip. Photo by Joe Walchester
Skate Nottingham and Backlit Gallery will together be delivering a programme of FREE creative workshops, events and skate jams through the winter and spring of 2020. These are open to skateboarders and non-skateboarders – everyone who has an interest in DIY culture, skating, art, photography, building and creating things. Some of the activities have a minimum age (for example, when power tools are needed) and may not appeal to everyone: but you can still come along – in all sessions people will be supported to take photos, draw pictures and write down your thoughts about what’s going on. If you’re younger, you can join our photographers and artists at a safe distance and help document all the rad stuff that’s happening. Parents and carers are welcome to come to – and if you’re aged 11 or under, we would like you to be accompanied.
Register for FREE here.
The programme is:
Saturday 11th – Sunday 12th January
11.00 – 16.00 (both days)
Skate and Create Workshops 1 and 2: Induction and building of skateable structures in concrete, wood and metal. You’ll design and create moulds for concrete curbs, then help pour the concrete and afterwards work on some wooden skate obstacles for our ‘Skate of Nature’ Light Night installation (7th-8th February). Some of the activities, including use of power tools and working with concrete, will be over-16s only. We will provide goggles and close supervision. Younger participants will be supervised to work with photographers and artists to document the sessions.
Venue: Backlit Gallery, Basement
Saturday 25th – Sunday 26th January
11.00 – 16.00 (both days)
Skate and Create Workshops 3 and 4: the concrete curbs will be dry and ready to paint! So, we’ll paint them, including with UV paint ready for Light Night and finish all the other ramps, ledges and other obstacles, and then you can start planning what other work you want in the gallery exhibition. As above with age restrictions for some activities.
Venue: Backlit Gallery, Basement
Friday 7th February (evening and night) – Saturday 8th February (all day, til’ late)
Nottingham Light Night – ‘Skate of Nature’ Installation: we’ll have illuminated, UV skateable installations at Sneinton Market Plaza, under an all-weather canopy, with artists Instar, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and Backlit Gallery. Our weekend workshops on the 11-12th and 25-26th January will concentrate on designing and building these installations together with experienced skatepark builders from Opus Skateparks. On the Friday night of Light Night anyone can come and skate the obstacles, film and take photos – with a demo from experienced skaters and prizes for best tricks and best lines; on the Saturday there will be some FREE beginners’ sessions during the daytime and a free skate jam in the evening til’ late.
Venue: Sneinton Market
Saturday 15th February
10.00 – 16.30
Radical Places 2020 Workshop – Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity: we’ll be in 38 Carrington Street, Nottingham’s Urban Room, working with children under 16 in the morning session to create crazy ideas for skate architecture with modelling clay and cardboard. Over lunch we’ll have some talks and screen films of your skating at Light Night. After lunch, we’ll get together with international designers and young people over 16 to draw up designs for how Nottingham can be more skate friendly, with some actual plans for a new space in the city – so your ideas may become concrete reality by the end of 2020!
Venue: 38 Carrington Street, Nottingham Urban Room
Wednesday the 19th February, Thursday the 20th February and Friday 21st February
14.00-16.00 (each day – February half-term)
Skate and Create Workshops 5, 6 and 7: These three afternoon sessions will be all about preparing for the gallery exhibition (6th– 13th March). We’ll help you select your best photographs, which we’ll then get developed and printed, and you can work together to draw, paint, cut, stick and build other work to exhibit. We’ll also have a laptop with Adobe Premier to help you work on films to be screened on the first night of the exhibition. All three of these sessions will be all ages. Younger children will be closely supervised when using scissors, glue etc.
Venue: Backlit Gallery, Morley Learning Space
Friday 6th March – Friday 13th March
‘Skate and Create’ Group Gallery Exhibition: with opening night and party on Friday the 6th March including film screenings. This is an opportunity to exhibit your photographs, drawings, paintings, designs, sculptures and skateable structures to friends and family, for free, in a professional gallery environment. Our Half-Term workshops on the 19th-21st February will be all about preparing for the exhibition. We’ll also be recruiting volunteers to help set the exhibition up and make sure it runs smoothly – all great experience for future creative careers.
Venue: Backlit Gallery
There will also be a range of social activities, jams and competitions, including another 4 ‘Winter Wednesday’ sessions at Brendan Lawrence Sports Centre from the second half of January until mid-February, dates and times to be announced, before shifting to weekly jams and beginners sessions at King Edward Park when the weather improves.
We’re really excited about this – and would like to pass on our appreciation to Nottingham City Council and Active Notts for funding this project.
We’ll email further info to everyone who’s registered, and loads of updates will be going up on social media: @skatenottingham on Facebook and Instagram and @NottinghamSkate on Twitter
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