"Finding
a Line Part One"
January
thru April 2012
This
is the first of two video documents focusing on the Finding a Line 5x5
project.
Ben
Ashworth, John Falls, Workingman Collective
About Finding a Line
Finding aLine takes the improvisational act at the core of skateboarding
- finding a line through physical space - and applies it to the process of
transforming a community space.
January 2012, two to three days a week, Ben Ashworth, Workingman Collective,
John Falls, and Co, began transforming a large neglected raw area under the
I-695 Southeast Freeway in Washington DC, into a skate-able social space.
The site, BridgeSpot, a complex high-low socioeconomic mash-up zone was shaped into a
skate-able social space that cycles rhythmically from action to a
calm-before-the-storm vibe.
Selected by curator
Laura Roulet for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities’
temporary public art project, 5×5,
Ben Ashworth and Workingman Collective collaborated with other
artists, activists, skaters, and the community towards the launch of the Finding a Line on March 20, 2012.
About 5x5
5x5 is twenty-five groundbreaking temporary public art
installations that were installed concurrently throughout the District of
Columbia March – April 2012. 5x5
coincided with the Centennial National Cherry Blossom Festival.
On Going Actions:
Janrurary – May 2012
Sustaining a steady
work ethic, Ben Ashworth and
Workingman Collective set a tone of stewardship by removing trash from the site, fixing what
was broken, building, documenting, and shaking hands. We began to link a diverse network of local officials,
skaters, parents, dj's, kids, construction and office workers, to the homeless.
As we worked and developed the Finding a Line project we sifted through actions + engagement, the
collective images + videos to craft the emerging process and
narrative.
We created a workshop “Explore, Build, Document: Public
Art Skateboarding Laboratory” for
students in grades K-6 .
Students made skateboards, designed and built skateboard
structures, and documented the process through video and video editing.
 |
| Chaw Group |
April 29, 2012
Through conversations with AlbusCavus, Peter Kursko the Urban Artistry's International Soul Society Festival
and Eighty Eight's Forward Festival, Flow. Programmed the final festival event at the Finding a Line site which
centered on live performances and workshops, including graffiti,
parcours, djs, skateboarding, music, dancing, and cooking.
