Rollergroove

ARCHWAY NIGHTS, ROLLER LIGHTS

WEDNESDAY 18TH MARCH 2009
6.30-8.30pm

COME SKATE AND ILLUMINATE THE DARK NIGHT OF ARCHWAY
at
the outdoor premiere of Hilary Powell’s film Light Years Away
with roller skating under Archway Tower
Archway Underground lower (Highgate) exit, Junction Road, London, N19 5RQ

ARCHWAY NIGHTS, ROLLER LIGHTS a project by artist Hilary Powell is the first commission for Alight, a new programme for ambitious, surprising and delightful light-works for Archway.

Throughout February 2009 strange events have been occurring beneath the foreboding Archway Tower as roller skaters have come from miles around to don mobile LED’s and take part in making a film to illuminate Archway. In a very literal case of ‘Roll, camera, action‘ artist Hilary Powell invited residents, commuters and anyone passing through Archway to play a role in illuminating a dark place on the dark winter nights.

The evening of Wednesday 18th March (6.30-8.30pm) sees the film created from these hybrid event/film shoots, Light Years Away, screened back into the space of its making - projected onto a perfect pre-existing 16:9 urban cinema screen in the form of a large white wall of an adjacent office building. This event will be the boldest finale participatory skating event of the project with sound system and skates available.

During many cold planning evenings in Archway Powell became fascinated by its nightlights and the mechanical and human traffic flows. Like many before her, from the Futurists to the photographic experiments of Muybridge, she looked for ways of exploring and capturing this constant light and motion, and found her starting point in the origins of film and cinematography as the ‘art of light’. The film is inspired by the increasing trend for ‘light graffiti’ in which street artists are swapping spray cans for torches and luminescent light sticks. Powell adds skates and moving bodies and uses multiple flash photography techniques to create animated light trails and ghostly images rolling through frames. Light Years Away immortalizes the skaters and creates an extra-ordinary vision of the much maligned Archway and as Powell states “The space surrounding archway tower is the ideal urban amphitheatre and the perfect space to play and experience the architecture of the city in a new way – by gliding through it on wheels!”

“Hilary Powell is an artist with extraordinary spirit – her interventions for Archway Night Roller Lights have introduced delight into the bleak underbelly of the Archway Tower, been a welcome spectacle for the bus queues, and created a new network of energetic urban skaters – some who have never been to Archway before - one who skated through the now sealed subways as a child in the 70’s. This project is the first Alight commission – a major work for the first gloomy months of 2010 will be announced soon.” Anna Hart, AIR.

Notes to the editor
Artist, Hilary Powell consistently works with overlooked or contentious urban sites - her previous film ‘The Games’ staged a surreal alternative Olympics amid the sites set to become the 2012 Olympic Park in February 2007. It has screened widely, is in the BFI collections and won Audience Award at the East End Film Festival 2008. She works closely with Dan Edelstyn of Optimistic Productions.
http://hilaryspowell.googlepages.com
http://www.optimisticproductions.co.uk

AIR (Archway Investigations and Responses) is a projects studio at Byam Shaw School of Art (Central St Martins) in Archway. It introduces artists into the everyday of Archway within the conversations, situations and institutions of an ordinary, and yet extraordinary, place.
http://www.archwayinvestigationsandresponses.org


Alight is a long-term objective for temporary artworks that reveal and animate Archway during long winter nights. It is a partnership between AIR and London Borough of Islington, with funding from Transport for London. David Batchelor and Jane Watt are currently working on proposals for largescale works to be realised over following winters as funding is secured.
www.archwayinvestigationsandresponses.org/alight.html

Artist, skaters and project representative available for interview.
Contacts
Anna Hart, AIR
a.hart@csm.arts.ac.uk
Mobile: 07977 094 330

Hilary Powell
hilary@optimisticproductions.co.uk
Mobile: 07931 462384

Clare Hill, Freelance PR
clare@clarehill.net
Mobile: 07906 037 783


IMAGES (Hi Res available)

Copyright Hilary Powell and Optimistic Productions

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SUPERFUNK ROLLERDISCO LIVERPOOL

Rollergroove hits Liverpool!!

Saturday 18th October 2008 Rollergroove's very own Skate DJ - The Taskmaster is joining forces with Superfunk Rollerdisco.
For more details on Superfunk's events:

www.superfunkrollerdisco.com

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ROLLBACK SKATING @ BYRON HALL, HARROW

Friday nights with Top London DJs
The Taskmaster, Mark Ross, Master P, DJ SK8, Lickle Shawn & Guests

Starting 8pm finish 2am

£7.00 Entry £5.00 Skate hire

Byron Hall (Behind Harrow Leisure Centre)
Christchurch Avenue
Harrow
HA3 5BD
www.myspace.com/rollbackskating
www.rollbackskating.com
RollBack is also on Facebook.
Check out the photos and the video from when Rollback first opened.

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SKATING @ SILVER SPOON WEMBLEY

Address: The Silver Spoon Banqueting Suite, New Light Complex, South Way Wembley, HA9 0HB Tel: 07071 881228

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DERBY ROLLERWORLD UK ALL-NIGHT SKATE SCHEDULE 2008

Last year was great, if you were not there you missed fantastic nights and you better make sure you don’t miss this years. Put the below dates in your diaries:

Sat 5th July 2008
Sat 22nd November 2008

Check out the photos from a previous all-night skate, videos have been added to youtube check them out: www.youtube.com/freshfunkysal

For more information on Derby Rollerworld Events:
Tel: 01332 345828
E-mail info@derbyrollerworld.co.uk
or visit www.derbyrollerworld.co.uk

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QUADSK8 ROLLER DISCO ROTTERDAM - 30th MAY 2008

Address: HAL 4, Watertorenweg 200, Rotterdam

www.quadsk8.nl

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BACK TO THE 80’s - 31st MAY 2008

Dig out your leg warmers and polish your roller skates…Real Radio and Colours Festivals are proud to be bringing 'Back to the 80s' to Braehead Arena on May 31st 2008!

Ditch your cassettes and celebrate 10 great years in music live!

Line Up
See Tony Hadley, Limahl, Heaven 17, Hazel Dean, Katrina formerly of the Waves, Howard Jones, Alexander O’Neal, Four Good Men and many more…!

As well as the music there'll be:

Real Roller Disco
Outdoor 80’s Karaoke tent
VIP Area
Outdoor Bar
Fairground Rides

Where: Breahead Arena & Waterfront
When: Saturday 31st May 2008 2pm - Midnight

For more information log-on to: www.realradiofm.com

Tickets are just £30.00 and you can BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE NOW OR CALL 0870 169 0100.

Coaches running from every major town/city throughout Scotland. Tel: 07986 750986. www.happybus.co.uk

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ROLLER BLITZ - TO RAISE MONEY FOR CANCER RESEARCH
ROLLER DISCO - 31st MAY 2008

BIRMINGHAM - Crane-framed Birmingham loves its modern cultural icons, having established an enviable prowess with institutions from a gleamingly extraterrestrial shopping complex to cheerful Christmas markets and emotionally moving Chinese buffets. Now our city at the heart of England is about to revitalize another icon of the retro-modern: the roller disco.

The group behind the mirror ball is the Birmingham Blitz Derby Dames roller derby league. These women typically approach roller-skating with a system of speed and full-contact manoeuvers, often sending opponents flying off their skates and towards the crowd.

But now the motivation is to promote a groovier side of the roller world. Not a group who deal in the subtle, the Blitz Dames are planning an authentic event with some of England's best known jam and freestyle roller skaters, many of whom have been at it since the eighties. All the elements of traditional roller disco will be there: coloured lights, huge wooden floor, raffle, and nonstop beats featuring disco, funk, and dance music.

As the league's Events Director, Helen Fury states, 'This disco is run completely by skaters, who know what makes skating a life long passion. Besides, it was time to bring the fun of roller skating to those who might prefer not to be hit.'

However, the league is equally keen to make use of their softer aspects - percentage of the profits from the roller disco will be donated to Cancer Research UK whilst also helping towards running costs of the league, which itself is a not-for-profit, volunteer organisation.

Tickets are £6 on the door with £4 for skate hire. With over 200 pairs of skates available for hire, they are sure to have your size!

The event aims to attract a wide age range from 14+, with a curfew-friendly start time of 7:00pm, but continuing long after the kids go home, until 1:00 in the morning.

'The roller disco will be a real alternative to a night in the bars, something for twenty and thirty-somethings who want to enjoy a night with their mates, and a wicked excuse to dust off your vintage clothes.' says league member Bee Sting.

So where can you go to get your counterculture roller fix? The Roller Blitz takes place on the 31st of May at Aston University Students' Guild Hall. More information is available at www.myspace.com/rollerblitz

Aston University Students' Guild Hall
Aston Triangle
Birmingham
B4 7ES

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TAMPA 2008 SOUL ROLL INVITATIONAL SKATE JAM

Rollergroove recently visited the Tampa Soul Roll Invitational Skate Jam 2008 in Florida. This event was fantastic and our friends at getyoursk8on did a fantastic job at organising the weekend. Click the below links to view photos and short teaser trailer from the event.

Tampa 2008 photos
Tampa 2008 Trailer