“Blue sky, shining on me,
Nothing but blue sky”
And let’s pray it’ll stay that way for the second half of this festival ‘cause it is already half time! I hope you all had a proper night’s rest cause today is THE most eventful day of the week. But before heading into this new journey, let’s take a look back on what happened yesterday.
Considering how some of you enjoyed the launching party to its full potential, I’ll say it’s a good thing the day started out pretty chill; leaving us time to rest, skate the spots, check out the exhibitions and speak with each other, exchange and start conversation that could go on for weeks.
The first panel, presented by Baptiste Pointillart on the history of skateboard in Bordeaux, could not have been a better introduction for this event. Being a historian who doesn’t skate, he brought a different point of view – maybe less affected than a skater’s but therefore more objective –. He saw and underlined such an important and under exploited point being that skaters do accept frames (not to say rules) and can be respectful, but the influence has to come from peers, not through police and repression.
Following this we had the pleasure to listen to and discover a bit of the backstage dynamics behind Leo Sharp and Kirsty Smith’s pictures. Since they are both exhibiting inside the Capitulaire room (where conferences take place) and since you’re probably already a bit familiar with Leo’s work I won’t talk much about it but I will sincerely encourage you to take a sincere look a Kirsty’s work and her research (if you weren’t at the panel, you can find most information on her website Hubbacouture).
Camile Ayme then presented her latest movie “Extérieurs Bruts”, inspired by her research on materials used in the public place which led her to the deepest marble quareer in Portugal, shot in parallel with images from the Dôme (Palais de Tokyo, Paris) entirely made out of marble. It explored the relation with the material but also questioned the notion of destructiveness, usually associated with the act of skating but isn’t digging and breaking out such a monumental natural place to extract something from it also an act of destructiveness?
The questioning doesn’t end here as this panel was followed with the one on Skateboarding programs in under-recognised places presented by Denia Kopita, Dr Indigo Willing and Dr Marie”Maz” Mayassi and in collaboration with Skateistan. It deeply put into perspective our relation with skate representation and what we tend to focus on almost by default: there is SO MUCH more to see and to discover, communities all over the world that actually get us out of our comfort zones and who, I promise, will give you just as much (if not more in a very different way) than a big ender on a 10-step stair.
I’d like to end this one on a huge shout out to Harrison Woolgar for the HEADZ 3 part he presented. It showcases everything that in my conception resonates as “skate core” and for all the right reasons: pushing creative boundaries, discovering spots and finding a way to skate them regardless of how crusty and shitty they might be, a project so rooted in passion it can only bring you the sparks skating is supposed to bring.
This shout out obviously extends to Matheus Du Bronks with the UNITED III, driven by the same passion that led him and his crew to film this in the Philippines and I’d especially like to address how pleasant and amazing to see a video that’s putting forward the local skaters as much as this one. It shows genuine connexion and interest in the local scene, something that some of us maybe needed to be reminded.
Connection is, and has to remain a key point of the skate culture and thank you, Connect Festival (I am aware it is indeed in the name but it also feels like it bears repeating) for putting this forward again and again.
Have a good day lads and see you tomorrow!