Monday 20 July 2015

We SHALL overcome

Psychogeographers of the world unite and take over (for one weekend at least)
As some of you know in October The LRM are dedicating our First Sunday derive in Manchester to the We Shall Overcome weekend. This is a collective howl of rage and love celebrating arts and culture, supporting those affecting by austerity and showing solidarity. http://weshallovercomeweekend.com/

I am calling on all comrades in loitering to get involved with We Shall Overcome wherever you are. I be...lieve there is an inherent politics in the practice of psychogeography, and I know I’m not the only person to worry it gets buried sometimes under layers of art and / or academic language and / or the sheer joy of wandering. Yes, there is a lot to criticise about The SI but “sur le pave, la plage” still resonates with me as the spectacle becomes ever more suffocating.

I believe at its heart psychogeography (however you define it) is about
O sharing the hidden stories of our streets and the people who have lived and struggled here
O understanding the hidden power struggles that shape our lives
thinking about who controls space, who uses it and who doesn’t and why
O (re)mapping and (re)imaging where we wander
O respecting the many diverse communities who make our homes what they are
O starting conversations, having a good time and reclaiming the streets for more than shopping

what could be more appropriate to a free festival of resistance, solidarity and joy?

So PLEASE think about doing something on the 2-5 October. It could be a wander, a talk, a reading, an exhibition, a film night, an action, a creative reclaiming of space or anything really - but it would be truly wonderful to get psychogeographic component to We Shall Overcome.

I’m more than happy to share any tools I have that may be useful or to chat through any ideas you may have. Let’s take it to the streets all over the psychogeographic universe!

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