bored in the city

2011-09-28T09:46:00.002Z

University induction week dice walking

Last year, as part of the Induction week programme for first year Psychology students, a special dice walking event was organised by the Bored in the city collective. The aim of this session was to use dice marked with directions such as left and right to explore the University of Huddersfield campus. The session began with a short presentation of how dice can be used as an anti-navigational method to explore social environments and to reflect on our experiences of places. The idea of living life by the dice was popularised through Luke Rhineheart’s book The Dice Man, whereby he decided to make serious life decisions by letting the dice decide what to do in terms of his job, relationships and friendships. The concept of using dice to make decisions can be connected to the situationist practice of the dérive (translated from the French as drifting), which involved getting lost in cities and reflecting on how environments effect behaviour in order to challenge the rampant process of capitalist gentrification. The issue of the regeneration of cities is particularly important when applied to the redevelopment of Northern cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Huddersfield in terms of whom regeneration really benefits. Individuals and groups can reflect on the changing forms of their cities through using practices such as dice walking. The political importance of using practices such as dice walking was connected to how it can be used to radicalise existing psychological research methods.

At this point, students and staff then formed a dice walking group and we set off onto the campus. Each member of the dice group was given a dice and they took it in turns to roll the dice to determine where we would go. First of all, the dice told us to take the second left which took us across a bridge towards the Canal Side West building. We continued along the road until we were forced to adhere to health and safety policy and disobey the order of the dice. So we then re-entered the campus and were forced along a gravitational pull towards the Freshers’ Fayre where we were plied with biscuits, flyers and posters! We then followed the dice onto a circular island near to the main entrance point of the University where the dice was marked with a question which meant that a member of the group had to decide where to go next. This is where the option of exploring the inside of the buildings came into play, and we found ourselves in the Arts and Design building, which led us to a darkened corridor with an explosive warning. The door was locked and in any case it would have contravened health and safety regulations to have entered!

The dice then told us to leave the building and took us around the outskirts of the campus. We then decided to get some more cookies from the Fresher’s Fayre where we lost two members of our group. The dice then directed us to the Media building and then we ended up outside next to the Milton building. This brought us to the end of the walk outside the Research building on the lawn. We then convened to discuss our thoughts and experiences of the walk and after the walk had concluded, one group member raised the issue of the commercialisation of University space and mentioned a recent article in The Guardian newspaper which discussed the issue of companies forming consumer ‘relationships’ with first year students. For those that are interested in participating in dice walks and would like to discuss issues such as the impact of regeneration on citizens and how dice walking can be deployed in academic research then contact

2011-07-27T13:08:00.002Z

The Bored in the City Collective intend to use this blog to sketch out their thoughts and plans for further psychogeographical endeavours and for various articles, texts and maps which they hope to put in the public domain. As always, we are interested in hearing from other psychogeographers and others interested in studying/critiquing urbanism using various methods such as dice walking and using maps of other locations. So do contact us at boredinthecity@hotmail.co.uk!

Since we last updated this blog ... which was near on 2 years ago ... we have still been involved in doing dice walks, writing articles and various other psychogeographical activities ...so we hope to put into writing some of what we have done ... on to this blog. At the moment we are keen on doing dice walking. This involves taking the numbers of the dice and replacing the numbers with directions such as 'turn right', 'go straight on', etc. We are keen on writing narrative accounts of walks which are interspersed with photographs and we produce detourned maps of places investigated. Currently we do dice walks in the North of England in places such as Huddersfield, Leeds, Bradford and Oldham.

There is also a really interesting psychogeography group in Leeds which is worth checking out ... they arrange numerous walks, talks and other events. For further details click on this link http://particulations.blogspot.com

The Bored in the City Collective are back!

2011-07-27T12:51:00.002Z

This blog is now active again - watch out for forthcoming posts!

2009-02-19T09:03:00.001Z

Just to note to state that the drift planned for 21st February, meeting up at the Queen Vic statue, has been cancelled. However, a series of further drifts will be announced shortly and a zine will be produced based on the drifts through Manchester over the past two months in affiliation with the Bored in the city collective. Also an article to be published in a journal/online forum is in the pipeline :)

reminder about the drift on 11 Jan 2009

2009-01-09T18:34:00.000Z

just a reminder about the bored in the city collective drift this sunday 11th jan, meeting at the queen vic statue in piccadilly gardens at 11am - we will be investigating the city in terms of how the city is mapped out in terms of addressing issues such as surveillance, social control and power ... this is the first of four drifts which will take place in january and february, where we will be experimenting with different forms of drifting and how to study the city using walking as a practice/method ...

2008-11-13T17:03:00.002Z

Check out other psychogeographical groups in the North West including the Loiterers Resistance Movement - they do some really interesting walks around Manchester and you can find them at http://nowhere-fest.blogspot.com/ Actually, some members of Bored in the City are part of the LRM as well - so we're all one big family.

One of the aims of the Bored in the City Collective is to be more active in terms of writing articles, zines and creating maps - the walks planned in January and February is only the beginning. And whilst drifting and getting lost is fun and also great to meet new people and be with old friends, we want to make sure we document what we do next year. We also think its important that the drifts and activities that we do gets into serious political and professional forums in order to instigate some kinds of changes - therefore we will be writing some articles in theoretical forums such as journals (community and social activist theoretical journals), magazines (maybe something like mute magazine) and the local press. Quite a bit of psychogeography drifts has come under much flack for being too esoteric or too concerned with the occult for example - we want to draw focus on the importance of a radical political analysis of space, focusing on issues in Manchester such as CCTV surveillance, the impact of social gentrification on local communities and boundaries of inclusion and exclusion in the city centre of Manchester, i.e. that if you've got money the city is a great place to be, but if your strapped for cash and a teenager for example, then the security guards want you out, i.e. check the Triangle shopping centre as the ultimate system of surveillance and what the hell are those chromeplated cctv cameras doing in the Louis Vitton shop, they suck!

And watch out for the next international psychogeography festival and conference in Manchester (TRIP, Territories Reimagined: International Perspectives), which will be in June 2010

Bored in the City's Psychogeographical Investigation 2009

2008-11-13T17:00:00.001Z

The Bored in the City Collective will be doing psychogeographical drifts around the streets of Manchester and we invite people to join us to make sense of the city and to creatively imagine what cities of the future could look like. We will be conducting a series of drifts across the city centre doing things like using maps of Cairo and New York to walk around Manchester, using dice to determine where we will go and generally enjoying getting lost in the city!

We will be meeting under the Queen Victoria Statue at Piccadilly Gardens at 11am on 11 Jan, 24 Jan, 8 Feb and 21 Feb in 2009.Bored in the City and friends will be undertaking a psychogeographical investigation of Manchester in order to understand urban space and to question and challenge the capitalist order of things. It is a further aim to produce some writings of the investigations conducted and those that would like to be involved should contact boredinthecity@hotmail.co.uk.The Bored in the City Collective are a group of curious people interested in wandering around cities and range from flaneurs, artists, activists, theorists and other people. We're a friendly bunch and we like to meet new people, so do join us :)

Keep checking this blog for further information

2007-07-11T09:55:00.000Z

Report of the Monkey Magic Walk

Members of the Bored in the City Collective and friends met outside the Palace Theatre, Oxford Road for the Monkey Magic walk. Those involved did not know where the walk would take them, but one person decided to lead the way and walk to the Roman Fort. Before we started moving, a poem was recited:

This is the monkey magic walk
We are monkeys
Monkeys are real situationists
Monkeys are real psychogeographers
Monkeys have fun
Monkey goes where monkey wants
Monkey climbs trees
Monkey finds bananas and a peach
If you find the peach of immortality from the Jade Emperor's Heavenly Garden and if you take one bite, then you will be granted immortality forever.
Let's begin the walk!

So on this note, we began the walk. Fortunately, we were armed with some bananas and a peach - essential food for magic monkeys. One of the members of the collective had recently bought a plastic toy camera (Holga) and they have taken some of the photos included in this blog posting.
What's interesting with photos taken with toy cameras, is that because of the plastic lens and the potential for light leaks into the film, this means that the images which are produced can be unpredictable...sometimes rubbish as a result, but sometimes awesome! Also, photos taken with plastic cameras are not crystal clear, but instead do give much more mood, contrast and also more 'subjective' qualities to images ...

We arrived at the fort, with the Beetham's Tower (known by the bored in the city collective humorously as the 'tower of satan'!). A photograph was taken of the roman fort, with the Beetham's Tower looming over ...

One tower, plus two ...

The remains of a roman wall ...

The watchtower ...

... at the end of the walk, one of the walkers ate the peach from the Emperor Jade's Heavenly Garden and that person was granted immortality forever. Then we walked to the car park for romans ...

A car park for modern day Romans

A location close to the Emperor's Heavenly Garden ...

The seed of the peach is buried in a secret place in the Emperor Jade's heavenly garden and we hope that it will grow to create more magical peaches to grant others immortality ...... Concluding the walk, we ended up in the Arndale Centre and we ate our bannanas

From the Bored in the City Collective

2007-07-11T08:56:00.000Z

TRIP
Territories Reimagined: International Perspectives
Manchester, 19-22 June 2008.

Call for Papers and Projects

Psychogeography
Neogeography
Deep topography
Urban interventions
Locative media
Collaborative Mapping

Between June 19 and 22, 2008, TRIP brings together artists, academics, movers, shakers, do-ers and dissenters in a unique event combining an interdisciplinary conference with a city-wide series of actions, exhibitions, and screenings. TRIP enables the previously separate worlds of theory and practice to interact, initiating new approaches and energies, and furthering techniques to take on and alter the physical environment.

Beginning as a reaction to the industrial revolution, the re-imagining of the city by romantics, bohemians, and avant-gardists evolved into a diverse range of strategies, practices and arguments, from the psychogeographic drift or derive to the artistic intervention. By the 1990s these were being utilised by artists, writers, activists, and historians, attempting to negotiate urban and rural space in the post-modern world.

But practices developed in the twentieth century encounter a different world in the twenty first - a more observed and policed world on the one hand, a more corporate, globally-connected world on the other. Increasingly the body, social, individual and political, is the site of contradictory demands - the demands to consume versus the demands of control.

TRIP will be based at Manchester Metropolitan University, on the city's main southerly corridor, Oxford Road. But we want events to take place throughout Manchester, in as wide a variety of spaces and venues as possible. Like many northern cities, Manchester is changing fast. Perhaps you want to critique the implications of "regeneration", or perhaps you want to stimulate new ways of engaging with an increasingly consumerised environment. Maybe you're passionate about the possibilities of inventive walking and drifting, or maybe you're a performance artist aiming to change the energy of a public space. Wherever you're coming from, TRIP wants to hear from you with your ideas.

To submit a paper, you should send an abstract outlining your subject and the key points of your presentation.
To submit an idea for an intervention, performance or a walk involving members of the public, please outline in one paragraph the aims and ideal locations for your project.
To submit an idea for a gallery-based project, please outline in one paragraph the thinking behind your installation or work..

Please try to keep your paragraphs to a maximum of 200 words. And don't forget your contact details. Deadline for submissions: October 1st 2007.

Submissions should be emailed to: TRIP@mmu.ac.uk
(and for further information on festival announcements, walks, talks and events, then please access our blog-space, which will be updated regularly at :
http://trip2008.wordpress.com/

The festival proceedings will be fully documented and recorded, and an edited volume of essays, art and photography will be published at a later date.

The Hacienda has already been built, destroyed and rebuilt

2007-07-11T08:52:00.000Z

**** IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ****

The Hacienda is now a big car park with a block of yuppie flats

gentrification is dull

2007-03-15T18:29:00.001Z

VERNAL EQUINOX & a memorial to Jean Baudrillard

The Vernal Equinox (V.E) marks a time of renewed life and birth for many cultures and religions including Wicca and Christianity. The equinox also marks the beginning of the astrological year as the sun enters the sign of Aries. Both day and night will be of equal duration on this date. Also, the Saxon deity Eostre is an important symbol of new life and fertility. Now is the time for play, joy and fun … a time to start new things and for plans to grow. To celebrate this date, we will be doing some of the following:

• Lighting bonfires (to renew life and ensure good crops).
• Ringing bells?!
• Singing songs (for the fun of it, think of some of your own).
• Planting seeds (to ensure good crops for the coming year).
• Cauldron, rope, candles and circular symbolic movement (?)
• And a surprise element in relation to the Sun God and the White Goddess.

Please bring any of these items if you have them! And warm greetings to you all 

Wednesday 21 March 2007 – Meet 6.30 p.m
The Basement, 24 Lever Street.

Brought to you by the Bored in the City Collective
Email: boredinthecity@hotmail.co.uk
Blog: www.boredinthecitycollective.blogspot.com

2007-02-09T13:24:00.000Z

Greetings all psychogeographers,

The Bored in the city Collective have now set up yet another online space, in which to represent photographs from their derives:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psychogeographer2023/

There may be upto 2023 psychogeographers in the Bored in the City Collective now!

From 2023 Bored members xx

Don't be a situationist disciple!

2007-01-16T21:41:00.000Z

Hi - this is a brief blog which will be further discussed over the next few months. The title enscapulates the theme argued here, in that although so far on this blog, there are lot of quotes by the situationists, we do not aim to be situationist disciples! The thing to do is to take inspiration from how they made sense of environments and link this to personal, political, theoretical and practical goals of your own and those of others, such as ...

... Auto-ethnography / Regulation / Photography / Discourse / Affect

2007-01-16T21:32:00.000Z

What is psychogeography?

What would this fisherman say that psychogeography is?

Geography, for example, deals with the determinant action of general natural forces, such as soil composition or climatic conditions, on the economic structures of a society, and thus on the corresponding conception that such a society can have of the world. Psychogeography could set for itself the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals. The adjective psychogeographical, retaining a rather pleasing vagueness, can thus be applied to the findings arrived at by this type of investigation, to their influence on human feelings, and even more generally to any situation or conduct that seems to reflect the same spirit of discovery (Debord, 1955).

ONE OF THE BASIC situationist practices is the dérive [literally: drifting], a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances. Dérives involve playful-constructive behaviour and awareness of psychogeographical effects, and are thus quite different from the classic notions of journey or stroll. In a dérive one or more persons during a certain period drop their relations, their work and leisure activities and all other usual motives for movement and action, and let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there. Chance is less an important factor in this activity that one might think: from a dérive point of view, cities have psychogeographical contours, with constant currents, fixed points and vortexes that strongly encourage and discourage entry into or exit from certain zones (Debord, 1958a).

The main activity of the inhabitants will be CONTINUOUS DRIFTING. The changing of landscapes from one hour to the next will result in total disorientation’ (Chtcheglov, 1953: 1, Capitals in original).

The spatial field of a dérive may be precisely limited or vague, depending on whether the goal is to study a terrain or to emotionally disorient one-self. It should not be forgotten that these two aspects of dérives overlap in so many ways that it is impossible to isolate them in a pure state. But the use of taxis, for example, can provide a clear enough dividing line: If in the course of a dérive, one takes a taxi, either to get to a specific destination or simply to move, say, twenty minutes to the west, one is concerned primarily with a personal trip outside one’s usual surroundings. If, on the other hand, one sticks to the direct exploration of a particular terrain, one is concentrating primarily on research for a psychogeographical urbanism (Debord, 1958a).

One can dérive alone, but all indications are that the most fruitful numerical arrangement consists of several small groups of two or three people who have reached the same level of awareness, since cross checking these different groups’ impressions makes it impossible to arrive at more objective conclusions (Debord, 1958a).

‘The flâneur stands in a relation: to people; to text; to fact and to tradition’, what they call an ‘urban ethnography’ (Jenks and Neves, 2000: 3)

DETOURNEMENT, the reuse of pre-existing elements in a new ensemble … The two fundamental laws of detournement are the loss of importance of each detourned autonomous element – which may go so far as to completely lose its original sense – and at the same time the organisation of another meaningful ensemble that confers on each element its new scope and effect (International, 1959).

Ideas improve. The meaning of words participates in the improvement. Plagiarism is necessary. Progress implies it. It embraces an author's phrase, makes use of his expressions, erases a false idea, and replaces it with the right idea (Debord, 1967: chapter 8).

2007-01-16T13:26:00.000Z

SOUNDWALK 16 JANUARY

a game based around a sonic exploration of mancunia
courtesy of our friend Bob from Glue in leeds. this is
what he says:

"we'll be exploring the soundscape rather than the
landscape using random numbers and getting people to
think about their aural environments"

we'll be meeting at the basement 24 lever street 6pm
this tuesday 16th january. email morangopop@gmail.com
or call morag for more details

this is my excited noise in anticipation:
wooooooooooooohoooooh!!

*************************************************************************************
Psychogeography Now: Update and Epiphany Derive
Where are you? Manchester’s accidental international psychogeography festival has been extended until January 16th and The Loiterers Resistance Movement (LRM) are delighted to invite you to some extra special events:

An Epiphany Derive – meet 3.30 sharpish at The Basement this Saturday January 6th

We will be playing a game to celebrate the 12th night. Wrap up warm – we’ll be playing out – The day was once known as Medieval Saturnalia The Feast of Fools and our theme will be revelations….No more clues, but bonus points will be awarded for treasure and sightings of wise men.

The Festival Finale will be a Soundscape Experiment with our comrade Bob from GLUE in Leeds – details are to be confirmed but provisionally it will be the evening of January 16th so please try and keep that date free.

The art exhibition will be continuing at The Basement 24 Lever Street until the 16th so come along and browse our treasury of maps ranging from practical and political tools to personal cartographic fantasies. Please feel free add your own art to the wall; the exhibition has evolved greatly since the opening night but its core remains the great stuff from 56a

If you wish to keep up to date with psychogeographical events in Manchester our good friends at The Bored in the City Collective have an email list with regular updates when there is something worth sharing – to join please email boredinthecity@hotmail.co.uk

I also heartily recommend the MAP website, the forum of which has recently been resuscitated, http://map.twentythree.us/index.html and of course there are usually lo-fi paper flyers The Basement

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the festival so far and helped make it all so magickal. I really hope you will be able to join us on Saturday; apologies for the short notice but I always did value spontaneity over organisation (and I still don’t have a computer)

May you always be lost in wonder and never in wal-mart

Glittery Love
Morag x

PS The Loiterers Resistance Movement would like to propose regular expeditions ions after the festival is over; its been such fun and we’ve met many wonderful people. I suggest meeting every first Sunday of the month at different venues – what do you think?

2007-01-16T13:18:00.000Z

A Prison (can you guess where?)

2007-01-16T13:04:00.000Z

A detourned map

2007-01-16T12:52:00.000Z

Definitions of the Derive (provided by Guy Debord)

ONE OF THE BASIC situationist practices is the dérive [literally: drifting], which is a ‘a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances’. Dérives involve playful-constructive behaviour and awareness of psychogeographical effects, and are very different to what we think of as journeys or strolls. The dérive is not a means to ‘gaze’ or ‘spectate’ at the re-invention and re-generation of cities and rural contexts. It is a means to make sense of experience ‘politically’.

The way to do a dérive may be precisely defined or vague, depending on whether one wants to study an environment or emotionally disorient oneself. These two aspects of dérives overlap in a lot of different ways (Debord, 1958)

2007-01-16T12:44:00.000Z

Winter Solstice Derive December 2006

An account of the winter solstice derive will be added to this post shortly :)

The following themes will be discussed: Beetham's Tower, Solstice, Rotas-Opera-Tenet-Sator, CCTV, The Shaping ...

2007-01-16T12:37:00.000Z

Jottings from the Bored in the City Collective

What is a situationist? What is situationism?
*A situationist or situationism does not exist! One can only use use situationist ideas and practice.
*Their focus on urbanism was an early phase of their theory/action.
*Subversive theories/action are needed to create social change
*N.B: practice is based on theory – blur boundaries between work, play and academia – Marx’s fisherman example.
*Raoul Vaneigem “Diversion, self-critical language, is our only possible means of communication. There are no limits to creativity. There is no end to diversion” (from 'The revolution of everyday life').

Psychogeography
*Not a doctrine of urbanism, but a critique of urbanism
*Architecture/buildings/cities shape and regulates behaviour
*How to make sense of place? Personal/political response - collectivity?

Derive
*Drifting, wandering, disorientation. ‘Opening’ the senses to what’s around us.
* Political usage of 'play' to critique representations of place, media, etc.

Detournement
&Change/transformation of words/images, etc.

Utopia or new world?
*Fill in the blanks ...

2007-01-16T12:22:00.000Z

Launch issue of a pamphlet by the bored in the city collective, No.1, 2004:

The situationists
The situationists discussed the regulation of everyday life. Although the writings of the situationists may appear to be quite theoretical, they were not based in academia. Their aims were for practical action and they envisioned social change that would be achieved by social action.

One way the situationists aimed to achieve their goals was by exploring how cities affected the behaviours of individuals. They used the techniques of the ‘drift’ and ‘detournement’, which I will now explain.

Just think about how in every day of our lives that we commute from work to home, to the pub and so on.

Activity time
What you can do now is to go for a walk, but not any normal walk, and certainly not one that involves shopping. This type of walk could be called a‘drift’ ...

How to do a drift (do’s & don’ts)
DON’T
• This is not a stroll, walk or a ramble.
• You do not aim to reach any destination.
• Don’t bother with shopping.

DO
• You must just ‘drift’ and wander about.
• You can take a map along with you, if you wish, but you don’t have to use it properly. Use it upside down or something!
• Experience your immediate surroundings. How does a place make you feel?
• Disorientate yourself?
• You can do this on your own, but it’s better and more fun to do in groups.
• Have fun!
• Write down thoughts, take pictures, discuss...

After the drift
Why not make a map of where you walked, which highlights your own experiences of places. The aim here may be not to make a conventional map. You could take a regular map of where you have been, cut it up, and stick photos, text onto it. Stick it all together and it becomes somewhat ‘detourned’ ... ?!?!?!?

Why do all this?
You tell me ?!

Good books on psychogeography and the situationists
Sadie Plant The most radical gesture: The situationist international in a postmodern age
Guy Debord The society of the spectacle
Raoul Vaneigem The revolution of everyday life

2007-01-16T12:17:00.000Z

Arndale-loo map
This was the first detourned* map by the Bored in the City Collective, which aims to highlight how urbanism processes erode history and in this case, eroded the importance historical significance of the Peterloo massacre, where people demonstrated for their democratic rights and equality. This is why an image of Peterloo takes central position in this map, as we believe it is the one of the most important events in Manchester, but has been forgotten in the rush by the council, business and tourist boards to represent Manchester as a place to ‘live, work and play in’. This map also takes inspiration from the Naked City map by situationists Asger Jorn and Guy Debord, in terms of arrows, which indicate the diverse ways in which people move through cities, and not in any linear type of manner.
* Detournement: A technique of reusing words and images to create new meanings, to transform mass meanings to mean something more subversive, more critical and transformative for social action.

2007-01-16T12:07:00.000Z

Truth, politics and language

Poetry is a knife that cuts language apart.
Language uses rules which poetry breaks.

Language is a stake.
We use language and
language uses us.

Language is a power.
A power to use and
A power to abuse.

Who has the right to use language?
Whose language has more status?

Politicians love language
They know language’s rules
And how to bend language,
To make it suit their aims,
To keep their power.

They hide from truth,
But truth is too good for them.
We know their lies.

Written by M's Cousin

Psychogeographic Welcome!

2007-01-08T20:31:00.000Z

Greetings to all psychogeographers, flaneurs and walkers,

This is the web-blog of the 'bored in the city collective' where you can find out about psychogeography walks, talks, actions and exhibitions in and around the Manchester and Stockport area, U.K. We also want to use this blog as a discussion forum on psychogeography, the situationists, rambling and cartography and to provide links to other psychogeography web-sites, groups and also theoretical writings and art.

Also, there is a big psychogeography conference/festival to take place in 2007 - watch this space!

From Bored in the city.