Unser Ebertplatz

Coding Rights, Humberto Corona, Lea Letzel, Luzia Emilia Nees, Norma Ibarra, Orangement, Steeve Bauras, Queer & Feminist Zine-Bibliotecha

The exhibition „They call themselves skaters, and the act of skateboarding they call skating“ warns against stereotypical representations in skateboarding and invites skaters and non-skaters to influence the construction of identity, culture, and society.

Who are „they“? What else do „they“ have in common? Skateboarders are often constructed as a unified group, but it is made up of diverse individuals with intersecting identities that influence their experiences. Not all skateboarders have the same access (and histories of access) to the city. Their bodies are read differently in public.

Despite the widely held belief that skateboarding is a culture that resists social norms, it often reproduces harmful patterns and structures. Class, skin color, sexuality, and gender complicate the seemingly progressive relationship between skateboarding and public space. Contradictory in many ways, it both reproduces and provides a means to resist hegemonic discourses.

Working towards an inclusive skateboarding environment and reclaiming the right to the city, media, and language, many skaters (who have struggled and continue to struggle for power, safety and mobility) participate in the sport. Through the work of artists, filmmakers, photographers, and publishers, the exhibition explores how people find belonging in skateboarding and the different ways they reimagine and reshape public spaces.

Thanks to Konstantin Hehl, Konstantin Butz, Dawid Liftinger, Maximiliano Estudies, Hanna Noh.

Funding
Kulturamt der Stadt Köln
NRW Kultursekretariat
Kunststiftung NRW