Street Training took place intensively from 24-27th of June at Cube gallery Manchester.

Each evening we spent three hours training. We began with looking at the history of Street Training, how it emerged from the University of Openness Climbing Club. We looked at roots and inspirations such as psychogeography and situationist ideologies, The Copenhagen Free University, Reclaim the Streets. People shared their own ways of using the streets in ways other than walking down the street with their walking down the street faces on, just going to work and going shopping. Morag is part of a Manchester group called Loitering With Intent to make Manchester wonderful - because the city is our playground, a psychogeographical group that meet on the last sunday of every month. Tory was a very active participant too she is doing a masters and collects and notices round things as a central part of her practice. She is studying how associations and memories become spatially located she says " So far...I have embraced round things, discovered fresh unseen parts of Manchester I have never encountered before, and I am beginning to learn how to really push my physical capabilities. I am really interested in the idea and relationship between the concept of nostalgia and psychogeography. How ones space can spark recollection and ways in which this happens by navigating the city, how those memories can change that space forever. Anyone else have any thoughts?" And Karen says"street training has shown me i do all the joyful things naturally, and is inspiring me to push myself physically and mentally to do more- break the barriers of the city.
iv met amazing people who i have seen grow over the sessions, and i hope they have seen me grow too. i hope we carry on using the city as a playful toy, creating colour and wonder in a grey urban landscape, and that we can show people that it's not strange to dance down the street, sing to yourself, or stop and smell the flowers (or the smelly corner if you so choose!)"