We’ve been fans of what Leo Valls has been doing in Bordeaux for a long time, and now it all came together at the Connect Skateurbanism Festival, which took place this October for the first time. It felt like all the work Leo has done so far and all the connections he’s made culminated in this festival. Numerous guests from all over the world came to visit and participate.
In Bordeaux, they have had positive experiences with skate urbanism, the concept of integrating skate spots into urban spaces, and there have been skateable sculptures before. For the Connect Festival, several sculptures were also placed in different locations, one of which consists of two shaking hands to symbolize connection.
But there was much more than just sculptures. You could join yoga classes, there was an art and photo exhibition, video premieres, and of course, a party. Ted Barrow gave a tour of famous spots, and there were also talks on topics beyond skate urbanism, such as John Gardner discussing mental health.
And of course, there were numerous talks and workshops on the main topic – skate urbanism. Architects, city and skatepark planners, and many other experts were there to present and discuss ways to better integrate skateboarding into urban spaces. Bordeaux has made huge progress, going from banning skateboarding and issuing tickets to skaters, to now welcoming skateboarding and actively working to integrate it into the city. Hopefully, other cities will adopt this approach.
We also took part in the festival. Together with Friedel Schlör, we came up with the idea for the 'Key to the City.' Our goal was to explore the boundaries of public space and design a tool that could be useful for your next street session. It started as an artistic concept, a thought-provoking idea, but the reactions were so positive that we now actually want to produce the key. Stay tuned!
All in all, we had a fantastic time in Bordeaux. We were able to exchange ideas with many people, gather new suggestions, and gain valuable insights. We’re already looking forward to next year and are excited to see if the festival might travel to another city.
