Rolling Out
Community Fun Day
Embedded Files
As part of MAC's Big Green Weekender, Bertz Associates and Skate Buddies created a fun afternoon connecting different communities through drop in arts and skating workshops.
Skating is a community-centred activity which brings people together in Cannon Hill park and encourages a sense of cohesion through exercise. The roller skating community is extremely diverse; comprising people of many different ages, races, ethnicities, and occupations and their presence in the park is remarkable. They often attract many spectators, however, many people do not have the confidence to join them. Our event provided a space for the grassroots group of Cannon Hill skaters to engage formally with the local community supported by Bertz Associates & MAC outreach. Park-users were able to meet with the skaters and learn more about skating at our community fun event.
Following on from these events, we hosted a set of roller skating taster sessions to encourage people to start skating and introduce them to the diverse and welcoming skating community in Birmingham.
T Shirt Screen Printing
Following a workshop with Skate Buddies to design some graphic prints, David Springer and Jayne Hayward ran an incredible screenprinting workshop using those designs. Participants were welcome to come and try out screenprinting, while learning and engaging with the local roller skating community.
Sticker Making
Sharonjit from Designs Loading created some lovely sticker designs to celebrate the local skating community. We then invited MAC attendees to join us in colouring them in and share with others to share the Skate Buddies story.
Film Screening and Q&A
We hosted a screening of our film 'Rolling Out Brum' and hosted a Q&A with the filmmaker and members of the roller skating community.
The film documents the Canon Hill Park Skater’s journey and explores the idea of “unofficial” communities - those that arise outside traditional organisational structures to become a family to people from super diverse backgrounds of ethnicity, age, and class.
Skate Performance
Skate Buddies performed a routine choreographed by Empress Gibbs, the founder of Skate Buddies. The piece embodies her personal journey with mental health and the positive impact that skating and skating community has had on her life.
Roller Skating Taster Sessions
In collaboration with Skate Buddies, we hosted three taster session workshops at Ladywood Methodist Church.
With skates and protective gear from Skate Hut, Skate Buddies introduced attendees to skating by teaching safety and confidence on wheels.
It was a fun and relaxed day, and we can't wait to welcome more people to the skating community.
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