Innoskate London 2019
Alexis Sablone shot by Jon Coulthard
Did you like Pushing Boarders? Well some of the same people involved with that are coming to Innoskate 2019. From May 24-25, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation is creating its seventh Innoskate festival to be held at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, England complementing the Street League Skateboarding (SLS) Olympic Qualifying event at the Copperbox Arena. Aligning the Innoskate program with the SLS event provides an important opportunity to enhance the connection between skateboarding and the East London community surrounding the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park area – an emerging dynamic center of cultural and educational activity.
Innoskate public festivals bring skateboarders and non-skate audiences together to appreciate that creativity, invention, and innovation are all around us and found in unexpected places. Through informal panel discussions, hands-on educational activities, learn-to-skate clinics, public skating, and a best-trick contest, Innoskate participants use skateboarding as an interdisciplinary lens for exploring the intersection of history, invention, and innovation with science, technology, engineering, art, music, and culture. This year’s Innoskate program will feature the collective energy and expertise of its multiple collaborators including Autodesk, Inc., University College of London’s Bartlett School of Architecture, Here East, the London Legacy Development Corporation, Chelsea Football Club, West Ham United Football Club, Solutions, Inc., FAR Academy, Create-A-Skate, and leaders of the skate community from the United States and England. The Innoskate team is excited to inspire young audiences with a particular emphasis on engaging the youth of East London to be active contributors to their society driven by technological change, invention, and innovation. Innoskate is made possible through the generous support of Autodesk, Inc. and the U.S. Embassy London.
Themes and featured speakers for the Innoskate London program will focus on four critical elements of skate culture: 1) the history of skateboarding and the evolution of skateboard technologies; 2) the relationship between skaters, the terrain they navigate, and architects, designers, city planners, and policymakers; 3) the critical role of diversity, adaptability, and inclusion in skate culture; and 4) the legacy of the Olympic games in East London and the worldwide impact of skateboarding’s inclusion as an Olympic sport. Featured presenters include Miki Vuckovich, Executive Director of the Tony Hawk Foundation; Josh Friedberg, CEO, USA Skateboarding; Stuart Maclure, Long Live Southbank; Lucy Adams, Chair and Elected Director Skateboard England; Pierre Fratter-Bardy, Head of Strategy, Olympic Games Department, International Olympic Committee; Adaptive skateboarders Dan Mancina and Oscar Loreto, Jr; WCMX rider Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham; skateboard inventor and designer Paul Schmitt; and Iain Borden, Professor of Architecture at University College London.
For more information head here.
Schedule for May 24 -25, 2019:
Friday, May 24 – Here East Gallery – Innoskate Evening Program
7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
Innoskate 360 – The Evolution of Skateboarding, Sport, and Culture
An evening featuring skate community leaders, policy makers, urban designers, and sport industry executives exploring the distinct ethos and culture of skateboarding as it prepares for its Olympic debut and introduction to new global audiences.
Saturday, May 25 – Innoskate Festival – Here East
10:00 a.m.
Open Skating / Innoskate Education Design Studio Open
10:30 a.m – 11:00 a.m.
Panel 1: 60 Years of Skateboard Innovation and Invention
11:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Panel 2: Skating Spaces: Skateboarding and Evolving Conceptions of Public Space
12:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Open Skating / Innoskate Education Design Studio / Beginner Skateboarding Instruction
3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Panel 3: When Culture Meets Sport: Skateboarding and the Olympic Movement
4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Panel 4: Innovation Driving Accessibility: Adaptive Skateboarding and the Road to the Paralympics
5:20 p.m.
Best Trick Contest (open to skaters with a signed waiver)
5:45 p.m.
Closing Remarks / Innoskate Ends
