Panel of the Grey Spaces of Skateboarding
In concrete skateparks, amidst office plazas, through the smog of car fumes, and grime of the city, skateboarding is a grey endeavour. Greyness both colours our material experiences and infuses the symbolic world of our activity; uncertainty, ambiguity, lack of clarity.
The simple and divided notion of skateboarding as play or as crime makes visible the contested and grey nature of skateboarding.
From the challenge of sportification in the Olympics, to tensions between commercial enterprise and community action, environmental ambiguities over consumption, and the politics of inclusivity and philanthropic work, skateboarding intervenes and mediates contemporary issues of our times. Showcasing mix media, film and panel discussion, this participatory session examines how skateboarders engage with the materiality and symbolism of grey spaces in skateboarding. We open to the floor contributions from the audience workshopping how skateboarders not only mediate grey space, but also grey times.