13th Oct 2016: Treasures in phone boxes; street games and play in the city by Jana Wendler

Come along to The Castle Hotel at 7pm to listen to Jana’s talk. Share a crust of bread, and learn what she has to share…

 

Table of Contents

Name of speaker:

Jana Wendler

Title of talk:

Treasures in phone boxes – street games and play in the city

play-is-our-favourate-way-of-learning

Bullet points of what you would like to cover:

  • What are street games
  • Play that is not just for children
  • Urban environment and play
  • Critical thinking and learning through games
  • Example projects

 

A (few) paragraph(s) on the subject you you’ve chosen to talk about and written through a personal narrative:

Play is a fundamental part of our lives: we play to socialise, to discover the world, to learn, to have fun or simply to play – until a certain age. Then, play becomes exceptional: something to do in certain places, at certain times, with certain goals and in clear opposition to our ‘normal’, ‘working’ lives. I find this shift intriguing – what is it about play that makes it such an ambiguous practice? And what can we do to reclaim its openness and enchantment?
These thoughts did not bring me to street games, they came much after – after my first surprising experience, stumbling around a story of magical talking forest animals on a Saturday night in Manchester back in 2010. The event captured me: not only the excitement of the story but the way it wove in and out of the more common night time city activities. It seemed to create and reveal another city, the memories of which would linger much beyond the game itself.
Since then I have been playing, creating and thinking about street games, in projects ranging from satirical social commentary to science communication to pedagogical innovation. I am interested in the spaces they create and the questions they provoke. Play in public space is visible and social, but also unique for each player. And somewhere in between, it leaves little gaps for surprise and learning which we can choose to follow.
 

Any suggested you-tube links, websites and / or texts where further information may be found on your chosen topic :

 
http://art.yale.edu/file_columns/0000/1474/homo_ludens_johan_huizinga_routledge_1949_.pdf