Donkin Downhill Dash

The Donkin Downhill Dash, a longboarding-meets-public art extravaganza is, this year, interrogating urban spaces and combining the creative and the urbane, say organisers, who have just released the event’s promotional video.

The minute long piece features an “Alley Cat” and the “Dashing Doves” and is indicative of a combination of both cycling and longboard skateboarding disciplines in this year’s race.

This is the third instalment of the annual Donkin Downhill Dash hosted by the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) – and presented by Downhill Eastern Cape and the n_mb city project, a collective of youth operating in the city – on the Voting Line path of the public art-rich Donkin Reserve in Port Elizabeth.

The event is an exciting festival of longboard skateboarding, alternative sports. Music and family fun, framed by the iconic public art meander, Route 67, designed and constructed under the guidance of the city’s development agency, the MBDA.

The video was shot by Christiaan Kritzinger and Scott Kelly and was an interpretation of rising national design star Pola Maneli’s concept for the poster artwork.

Maneli, who collaborated with n_mb city on the piece, wanted to create an artwork that would stand out speak to the heart of the inner city.

“I love Central. As grimy and uncouth as it is, I love it. There is just so much beauty to it. I wanted to portray that juxtaposition, so I chose one of central’s oldest inhabitants – pigeons, and gave them a wreath of roses around their neck. At one stage I considered using rats too, but that felt like overkill and skulls, because, well… skulls,” Maneli said of his design.

Taking from this, a collective involved with the project collaborated to shoot the video.

“In the video we wanted to reflect the urban spaces we engage with on a daily basis. Skateboarding completely absorbs the urban and makes it a part of a way of being in a space,” said Amy Shelver of the n_mb city project.

“But art – sporting or otherwise – is also reflection, so we took various urban elements, like pigeons and cats, sharp corners, streets, and city views, and combined them into a promo video that showcases the reality of a lived city – gritty and real, but beautiful. The result is a chase sequence with a difference. Now we wait to see if life imitates art, when race day comes and we integrate the two races.”

The video sees an Alley Cat waking to the smell of food – or pigeon – who goes on a scamper through the Port Elizabeth inner city to satiate his hunger. On the trip he finds two Dashing Doves atop the Donkin Reserve and proceeds to chase them. Watch the video to see what happens next.

Donkin Downhill Dash 2014 from Christiaan Kritzinger on Vimeo.

The Donkin Downhill Dash is a free event for spectators and takes place on 22 November 2014 from 9am-4pm. Competitors pay R150 to skate the hill in a time trial. The competition this year consists of three classes as well as an “Anything on Wheels” Fun Run and an Alley Cat city bike ride.