New footage from The Land documentary film premiered on The Atlantic online alongside Hanna Rosin's exciting cover story about The Overprotected Kid.
There are many powerful moments in the article including reflections by Hanna as she watched her young son play at The Land for the first time. A great read.
You can find the clip on The Atlantic Video Channel and here:
The Land is a forthcoming documentary film about the nature of play, risk and hazard set in The Land, a Welsh "adventure” playground. Here, children climb trees, light fires and use hammers and nails in a play-space rooted in the belief that kids are empowered when they learn to manage risks on their own. playfreemovie.com
Play on!
Spent the morning re-visiting the work American street photographer Helen Levitt. If you're interested in this film, I'll bet you could sink into her work as well.
Play is fun, the picture declares, but deeply serious. (more)
Levitt’s consistent and canny framing of play-scenes makes the picture itself into a space of play. (more)
Play on, all - in whichever form you choose!
Annibale Carracci (Italian, Bologna 1560–1609 Rome).
Was thrilled to see this risky moment at the MoMa recently. "Two Children Teasing a Cat."
The picture may well carry a moralizing lesson similar to our expression "playing with fire." One of the children will surely get scratched. (source)
Somehow I doubt the message was intended for the children depicted in the painting.
Hello, Australia! ABC Radio National, Australia aired our radio story about The Land on Sounds Like Radio, an eclectic remix of audio documentaries and soundscapes from around the world.
Also featured is a delightful audio doc, Thirteen Ways by Pejk Malinovski that beautifully illustrates children's imaginations through (sonic) poetry. Listen to both!
Thank you, ABC Radio National!
This week a great comment came through at Transom.org, where the radio story of The Land premiered.
When I first came back from The Land, I showed some rough footage to a few kids I know. They were hypnotized, oohing, awing, asking:
"What do you do there?"
"Anything, really"
"oh... [lightbulb] AWESOME!"
Later, I realized the 8 year old had slipped away. I found him in the play-room building with a cardboard box he'd dragged out of the garage, some other items from the recycle bin, blankets and pillows -- he'd even taken some pictures OFF THE WALL to create the boundaries of his fort. Permission and possibility, they translate quickly.
It's an honor to be featured in the latest episode of WBEZ's Re:Sound about "Kid's Secret Places." I was swooning with nostalgia in the first ten seconds of the show (and, ahem... singing along). Thank you WBEZ for sharing the story! It's an honor to be on the show.
This piece premiered on Transom.org
Thanks to KUOW Seattle Public Radio for airing a special short cut of the audio documentary about The Land: 'Kids in Europe's "Adventure Playgrounds" Allowed to Take Risks'!
Listen to the full version at Transom.org.
Dennis keeps a close eye on our progress.