So impressed by our friends at play:ground - the incredible team of playworkers, alternative educators, performers, historians and parents who've established a true junk playground in New York City.
Check out the New York Times coverage here.
We wish the team a fruitful summer rich in play and can't wait to hear your reflections at the season's end. Bring on the kids!
The front page of the Business section in this Friday's New York Times hosted two articles tying work, play and family together closely. In Sweden... an experiment enforced a 6-hour work day for workers with no pay cut. The results showed increased productivity for the company due to well rested, happier workers. These workers frequently cited quality time with their families as the most rejuvenating outcome of the change. Not to mention the benefits for the children who had meaningful connection with well rested parents.
In Sweden, an Experiment Turns Shorter Workdays into Bigger Gains, NYT 5/20/16
Meanwhile retirees in the US are finding it harder to let their work lives go... completely. These retirees attempt to balance paid work with volunteer contributions in their communities and build connections with grandchildren.
Work a Little, Play a Little: A New Retirement Strategy, NYT 5/20/16
Often work and play are presented as opposites when in fact they are more like cousins, sisters. Playworker and scholar Brian Sutton-Smith said, "the opposite of play is depression." Self-directed time and space is valuable and healthful for the individual and the society and should be enabled, across the lifespan.
Join us in supporting a new adventure playground in New York City! Play:ground's adventure playground at Governor's Island will serve thousands of local children and be a model for countless American cities. Wondering how to get an APG in your community? This helps! Normalizing free play and supporting a standard of professionalism for playworkers is a piece of our shared pie:
Our film THE LAND was launched through a successful kickstarter campaign and we know first hand how small pledges of support from $1, $5, $10, $100 -- whatever you can give -- MAKE the difference.
We believe in and support play:ground and hope you will too! Pledge today and play on!
Play advocates UNITE at the second annual Play Symposium at the Ithaca Children's Garden featured on NPR, Katie Couric's Katie show and, of course, home of The Anarchy Zone adventure playground. Meet and hear from kindred spirits making play happen all over the country.
We'll be there listening and learning and screening the film. Registration is open now!
We are proud to announce our upcoming screenings with AFI Docs in Washington, D.C.!
Friday June 19, 12:15p
Sunday June 21, 7:00p
Tickets available now!
We are thrilled to have our New York premiere with Rooftop Films! Outdoor screenings all Summer long. See you opening night for "This Is What We Mean by Short Films!"
FRIDAY MAY 29, 8:00pm
INDUSTRY CITY
(North Roof & South Roof)
SUNSET PARK
220 36th Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11232
D, N, R to 36 St
Home again after a dreamy weekend at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival sharing The Land and marveling over the incredible docs this year. It was such an honor to be included.
My eternal thanks to the children and families of Plas Madoc and the staff and supporters of The Land adventure playground, especially Claire Griffiths, David Bullough, Luke Sutton, Nicola Milburn, Natalie Sear & Aaron Jones.
And heartfelt thanks to the incredible filmmaking team: Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar, Liz Cambron, Erick Stoll, Eric Risher & Jim Klein.
One more special shout out to the INCREDIBLE audiences at Full Frame who traveled from near and far! Thank you for your energy and questions. Play on!
Hats off to Erin Marteal and her amazing team at the Hands On Nature Anarchy Zone at the Ithaca Children's Garden for their work creating the very first Ithaca Day of Play! An inspiring gathering of smartypants and play aficionados, the curious and determined, all scheming about the future of adventure play in the US.
Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to the good vibes and great ideas, and who has supported and inspired us along the way (looking at you, folks at The Land & Pop Up Adventure Play!) Onward! #playwork #playrev #anarchyzone
