Play Cartographies
With Joel Seath and Kelda Lyons
Chair: Mike Duggan
Date: Tuesday 15th May 2018
Time: 18:00 - 20:00
Venue: The Nash Theatre, Kings College London, The Strand, London, WC2R 2LS
Cost: Tickets £10.00
and £7.50 concessions
Children have a right to play, as stipulated by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Too often,
however, tolerance for play is confined to corrals of adult acceptability: designated areas within the urban fabric. The reality of play (that is, play for its own sake, without adult agenda) is that, as urban citizens in their own right, children will play
anywhere and everywhere if conditions are conducive for them to do so. Play is an everydayness of being.
Whilst working at an adventure playground in west London, Joel Seath aimed to raise the tolerance and awareness of play,
in part by mapping contemporary accounts and observations of play in both destination places and the in-betweens, and by simultaneously gathering historical accounts of local played-places. This anecdotal lived experience of different generations was reflected
back in interactions with adult community members.
Drawing on the thinking of writers of urban studies as well as on that of playwork theorists, this seminar aims to give a flavour
of the urban palimpsest, as perceived and mapped, in which play that has been still marks, and in which play continues to take place. As societal positioning on the well-being of children continues to shift, this seminar is an on-going call for careful observation,
understanding, tolerance, and respect for children's play, wherever and however that play happens.
Speakers:
Joel is a playworker, playwork trainer, researcher, and writer. With close-to thirty years’ experience,
he has worked with and for younger and older children and teenagers in a wide variety of play, early years and youth provisions, in outreach on the city streets, in forests, and at festivals.
Kelda is a playworker, play consultant, writer and researcher with 15 years experience of doing inclusive playwork with children and teenagers. Kelda
does independent and original research on playwork and children's play in public space, and is a Built Environment Expert with Design Council CABE.