Skating on the Rivers (2017)

A workshop aimed at self-identifying girls and women aged 12+, with no upper age limit. Together we explored fluid movement in urban spaces on skateboards in the Fruit Market area of Hull. This workshop was delivered within the ReROOTed programme, and was part of Hull UK City of Culture 2017. 

Participants were introduced to the use of verbal cues for improvised movement, which were developed from the my observations and experience of the River Humber and River Hull. Click on the image below for video documentation of the event.

Skateboarding is an urban recreational practice that has strong connections to water – both physically and ideologically. Histories of skateboarding’s development are closely connected to water, with modern ramp practice commonly attributed to Californian surfers, who used the undulating asphalt and concrete of the urban LA landscape as a replacement for sea waves when the surf was flat. Skateboarding is also a practice that encourages seeing the city in a more mutable way, and of making playful and innovative use out of whatever environments are available.