Since Forever Playground’s first edition in 2019, rapid and unimagined change has unfolded both within skateboarding and the wider world. Pandemics and Olympics seem representative of the contradictions over this time which has seen divisiveness spill into the streets, yet sharpen consciousness within skateparks. Yet, in times of uncertainty and contention, grassroot social skateboarding initiatives have flourished in corners of the world where unequitable change hits hardest. It goes to show how skateboarding is well placed in such times with potential for comradery, creativity, inclusivity, diversity, resilience and play. This has lead individuals and organisations to take matters into their own hands, often constructing radical concrete experimentations in social innovation as skateparks emerge within the cracks of society.
For the 4th Issue of Forever Playground we ask: what comes next? After the spectacle of the skatepark construction, how does skateboarding generate news ways to organise within unstable, unequitable and unpredictable environments? How are new relationships constructed, shaped and sustained within transglobal skatepark communities? What does skateboarding tell us about today’s world? And what can it offer as glimpses into an imagination of what the world could be?
The new issue of Forever Playground will be published in print form responding to the broad question of What comes next? It welcomes writing, photography, graphics and drawings, from articles to poems, stories, journal entries, photographs, short stories and more.
We highly recommend submissions from first time writers as well as seasoned professionals, from all abilities and everything experimental that responds to one or many of the following topics:
Skateboarding emboldens connectivity and socialisation / skateparks thrive in wider networks of community infrastructures / projects and programming are organised transnationally over different mediums of communication / organisations take part in wider networks of stakeholders / connections break down
Skateboarding encourages innovation and inventiveness / skateboarding draws from and shapes artistic movements / skateparks are a canvas for self-expression / skateboarding can be communicated through a variety of artistic outputs
Skateparks are anarchic sites for freedom of expression / skateboarding is governed by core values and rules / NGOs require structures to operate / we aim for leadership and responsibilities / skateboarding encourages creative dissent
We are all skateboarders / we have common understandings and responsibilities / skateparks are sites of inclusivity, diversity and belonging / skateboarding as a way to support international solidarity / skateparks are sites for politics to develop
Skateparks are ecologically damaging / skateboarding is a regenerative practice / skateparks require maintenance / organisations benefit from support and care / skateboarding encourages intuition, continuity and prosperity in scarcity / skateparks are ecosystems
Skateparks are shaped by concrete curvatures / skateparks are sites that enable change / they are unstable and always changing themselves
Beginner classes support newcomers / skateboarding encourages individuality and freedom of expression / skateparks are sites for multiple other practices / programming allows skateparks to become diverse ecosystems
Many different worlds exist / skateboarding is one way to see the world / skateparks allow different versions of the world to be explored / skateboarding enriches our understanding / what worlds exist and how we can change them
Closing date: September 30th, 2023
Picture by Byrrrh and Skate
