Dissident Bicycles (Part 1): Ai Weiwei’s ‘Forever’

For August, we have a 5-part series written by Laura Fisher exploring how bicycles are used as a dissident object in contemporary art. Laura Fisher is a post-doctoral research fellow at Sydney College of the Arts (University of Sydney). Originally published in long format in Artlink, the five projects Laura details are examples not only of how bicycles create positive social (and other) change, but how this achieved utilizing the arts and performance. In this first instalment, Laura describes the importance and impact of one of Ai Weiwei’s most iconic pieces ‘Forever’. Enjoy! NG.

Dissident Bicycles Part 1: Ai Wei Wei's 'Forever'. Bicycles Create Change.com 9th August 2020.
Ai Weiwei, Forever Bicycles, 2015, installation view, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Supported by the Loti & Victor Smorgon Fund ©Ai Weiwei

The bicycle as dissident object: Ai Weiwei’s ‘Forever’

One of the centrepieces of Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei at the National Gallery of Victoria is a fresh iteration of Ai’s Forever sculpture. Located in the foyer, the sculpture consists of a towering arch of over 1,500 interconnected bicycles, all uniformly produced to a minimalist design. The Forever series is now among Ai’s most known works, having been exhibited in many configurations in museums and public spaces in London, Taiwan, Taipei, Venice and Toronto and elsewhere. The namesake is China’s Yong Jiu (which translates as“Forever”) brand of bicycle

Established in the 1940s, the prized Forever brand dominated China’s cycling culture for several decades before the car became more widely used. For Ai there is a tainted nostalgia about the Forever bicycle. In the remote village where he was raised after his father – an enlightened and popular poet – was exiled from Beijing, the bicycle was not only needed for travel but for transporting things. It was also out of reach to all but the well-off, a high status object of intense desire for a child like Ai living in poverty.

Dissident Bicycles Part 1: Ai Wei Wei's 'Forever'. Bicycles Create Change.com 9th August 2020.
Ai Weiwei, Forever Bicycles, 2015, stainless steel bicycle frames. Courtesy Ai Weiwei and Lisson Gallery, London

In the first version of the work (in 2003) Ai suspended real Forever bicycles in a circle, and removed the chains, handlebars, pedals and seats. Eliminating these features set him on a path of abstraction, which in turn allowed him to introduce ambiguity to the object and play with patternation. Subsequent versions of the work left the readymade quality of the original behind and embraced a manufactured aesthetic, with the sculptures acquiring spectacular architectural proportions.

The bicycles seem to be self-propagating as grand crystalline structures, yet they are strikingly immobilised: ossified in gleaming stainless steel. In light of Ai’s ongoing critique of the constraints on liberty and individuality in China, it is hard not to interpret Forever as a potent vision of arrested movement, and its mass-produced elements as a metaphor for a particular kind of circumscribed sociality.

With Flowers

A more lo-fi object and performance that attests to the importance of bicycles (and flowers) to this critique is Ai’s With Flowers. Daily, from 30 November 2013, Ai placed fresh flowers into the basket of a bicycle leaning on a tree outside his Beijing studio gate to protest the confiscation of his passport (in 2011), and documented the bouquets on Flickr. His passport was finally returned in July 2015.

Dissident Bicycles Part 1: Ai Wei Wei's 'Forever'. Bicycles Create Change.com 9th August 2020.
Image: Ai Wewei ‘with flowers’ 20150301-2 (2015) Flickr.

The National Gallery of Victoria installation

The National Gallery of Victoria’s installation is just the most recent in a long line of commissions and adaptations of Forever. And you might ask why the work has had such longevity. While it is no doubt a testament to Ai’s growing fame, it surely also says something about the bicycle’s symbolic currency at this historical moment.

In the coming years, the bicycle is likely to be a significant gauge of our cities’ progress towards finding a more sustainable equilibrium and it is a very tangible instance of the idea that a personal choice, when embraced en masse, can translate swiftly into extraordinary collective good. In this light, the scaled-up Forever seems to be suggestive of the grand promise associated with this disarmingly simple tool of urban transformation.

What is striking about the bicycle in the age of electronics is that it is an honest machine: its means of operating are transparent and its action truthfully felt. As Ai himself points out “They’re designated for the body and operated by your body. There are few things today that are like that”.

As a machine comprising simple cogs and wheels that efficiently convert human energy into movement, the bicycle has unique kinetic and haptic qualities that lend themselves to aesthetic investigation.

Thus, while Ai’s bicycles are polished and quiescent, many other artists have employed the bicycle’s movement to activate different kinds of individual and social behaviour – which is what we will be exploring in the next post!

Dissident Bicycles Part 1: Ai Wei Wei's 'Forever'. Bicycles Create Change.com 9th August 2020.
Ai Weiwei – Forever Bicycles, (2011). Taipei Fine Arts Museum (2012). Image: Phaidon

Laura Fisher is a post-doctoral research fellow at Sydney College of the Arts, The University of Sydney. In October 2015 she co-curated Bespoke City with Sabrina Sokalik at UNSW Art & Design, a one night exhibition featuring over 20 practitioners celebrating the bicycle through interactive installations, sculpture, video, design innovation, fashion and craft. This event was part of Veloscape, an ongoing art–research project exploring the emotional and sensory dimensions of cycling in Sydney.

The contents of this post was written by Laura Fisher and first published online by Artlink (2015). Minor edits and hyperlinks added and footnotes removed to aid short-form continuity. Images from Artlink unless attributed.

Got a Bicycle Diary?

Some people say making time for bike rides can be hard. But if your diary is a creative bike-inspired calendar all-in-one, then the job is not only easy, but imaginative and fun!

Making time for bike riding and art is a must.

Previously on this blog, I have shared some other of my fav bike inspired selections ranging from 5 Bikey Christmas Gifts, Trail Troll Art Installations on MTB trails, Temporary Bicycle Tattoos and the follow-up Bicycle Tattoos on THIGHS) and actual art bike rides like Melbourne’s Pink Flamingo Bike Rave (*sigh*!).

Yup, art and bikes just go together.

Below are 5 great bicycle diaries and travel journals.

Some you can still get while others were limited editions. All are the perfect place to block out happy hours on two wheels (alongside all the other things you need to get done too of course!).

Aside from having a bike theme – always check items are recycled and/or produced using sustainable and ethical practices – and support local artists where ever possible.

Keep any eye out for these in your local bookshops too (they need the business).

Or have a go at making your own!

1. Punctures & Panniers- Cycle Traveling Journal

This bike travel journal has it all! It is the brainchild of intrepid bike tourer Andre and was made possible in collaboration with artist Ania Butler. It has recycled paper and biodegradable inks. The design is clean and engaging and there is places in it to record your favourite routes, people you met, pages to doddle, log recipes, store contacts and more. This book was initiated by a kick starter and has something for every bike rider. A real gem!

Got a Bicycle Diary? Bicycles Create Change.com 5th July 2020
Punctures & Panniers

2. Bike Art – Just Ride 2018-2019 Weekly Planner

The Bike Art On-the-Go Weekly Planner is perfect for your bag, backpack, or briefcase. This is a 17-month calendar with funky graphics. This planner is fun and thorough with plenty of time management sections that will help keep you organized. Stylish design and kooky bicycle motifs will make you smile on every page. By Amber Lotus Publishing 224 pages.

3. Ashley Hackshaw: How to turn a book into an art journal

Ashley Hackshaw (AKA Lil Blue Boo) has a blog o(f the same name) where she shares art projects and creative ideas. In this post, she shows step-by-step how you can make your own art journals using composition books. Although not specifically a bike diary – I love that her example is!

4. Bicycle (Personalized) Embroidered Notebook Cover

Quirky, creative and unique. Personalized notebook covers are so handy. The best thing is they can be reused for different diaries and notebooks. This particular cover by Sierraistanbul is an embroidered, fabric, red bicycle with a nameplate ‘Nick’ – but you can get it customised for your own/other people’s name too.

5. Inner Tube Notebook Covers

You can also check websites and places like Etsy for inner tube book and diary covers. Or have a go at making your own. Check reviews first if buying online as sizes can vary especially if you add things into your diary and it expands. Inner tubes can be tricky to work with so double-check any zips and that seams are robust. Having said that- these are great products to have as they fully fit the bike-recycled mandate!

Becoming Ruby: MTB, inclusion, identity & heros

Becoming Ruby. Bicycles Create Change.com 21st March 2020.

A Mountain Bike film about inclusion, identity and hand-drawn heroes.

Becoming Ruby is a personal portraiture of an MTBer, family, diversity and community.

This 18 mins film centres on Brooklyn Bell who is a mountain biker, skier and artist. In the film, she speaks about her experience of being a woman of colour in MTB and the alter-ego hand-drawn Ruby she created to help better face the world.

The film explains how Brooklyn was ‘not seeing herself reflected in the community she loves, mountain biker, skier and artist Brooklyn Bell created her own role model: a hand-drawn hero called Ruby J. With Ruby J as a guide, Brooklyn spent the next few years trying to “live like her, breathe like her, be unapologetically black like her,” and in the process shaped her own identity, one that intertwines her love for dirt, snow and art—and a voice with which to advocate for diversity and inclusion.’

As Brooklyn chats with her sister, they muse how MTBers are ‘often annoying, stuck up and rich’. Brooklyn also notes that even if you have money and access, but come from a family that doesn’t value MTB, then you are spending a tonne of money on a new bike or new skills or a climbing rack … that you are a person and part of a culture that has a ‘cognitive dissonance’ – and how isolating that can be.

Becoming Ruby. Bicycles Create Change.com 21st March 2020.

Brooklyn’s narration of what it is like to be a woman on colour in MTBing is well worth hearing. I find particularly salient her comments about music choice being a (differing) point of inclusion as opposed to acceptance.

MTB is definitely ‘white-dominated’, but ultimately for Brooklyn, ‘all that fades away and that what really matters is being connected to the dirt’.

Oh, and the beautiful cinematography of being outdoors, riding bikes and MTB trails – (*sigh*).

Becoming Ruby. Bicycles Create Change.com 21st March 2020.

Brooklyn’s closing poem says it all:

Dear Ruby,

I am strong

I am fit

I am beautiful

I am fast

I have a huge heart

And I will not give in

And I will not give up

I am comfortable in my own skin

I love to ride.

I deserve to be heard and I am here

I am here

And it is just wonderful.

All images in this post courtesy of : Becoming Ruby (film stills)

Lismore’s Bicycle Christmas Tree

Lismore's Bicycle Christmas Tree. Bicycles Create Change.com 23rd Dec 2019.

Christmas is only moments away.

For previous Christmases, this blog has looked at:

 For 2019, we are heading to Lismore in QLD, where for the past few years the local City Council has provided a public recycled art Christmas Tree. This very successful initiative all started with recycled bikes.

The Lismore Council public art Christmas tree initiative stemmed after the local ‘leaning tree’ that had previously been decorated for Christmases was (unduly and harshly) dubbed ‘the world’s most pathetic’ Christmas tree. (Note: Personally, I think the leaning tree was awesome. Such a pity that we don’t celebrate diversity and difference and the wonderful uniqueness in nature. As Gaudi stated ‘there are no straight lines in nature’ – I think it is the very twists, turns, messiness and curves that makes life so engaging and grand. The very thing that made that tree unique and special to some, others considered to be a flawed and an eyesore. I don’t agree that ‘perfection’ i.e. a straight tree (or a or a ‘pretty blonde female’ as an extrapolation) is necessarily beautiful. Perhaps we need to check in with our cultural value criteria – anyhow..back to Lismore).

So, in 2015, Lismore Council looked to change their tree and started a recycled public art initative.

Lismore's Bicycle Christmas Tree.
Image: Cathy Bowen Northern Star

Lismore’s Bicycle Christmas Trees

The recycled bicycle tree was the first of these instalments. In 2015, the Lismore Bike Christmas Tree was erected as a centrepiece for the main roundabout on the corner of Keen and Magellan Streets.

This intuitive is to celebrate the festive holiday season as well as Lismore’s commitment to recycling and sustainability.

A local bike shop, Revolve, supplied the 90 old bicycles (which otherwise would have gone to scrap), 50 litres of paint, almost half a tonne of steel for the frame and $30 of donated rainbow mis-tints from the local paint shop. GOLD!

Lismore’s council metal workshop welded the bicycle frames were welded onto the steel frame they had created as the base structure.

The final ‘tree’ was then painted in rainbow mis-tint colours by the council staff and their families in their own time.

The tree was then gifted by the council to Lismore residents.

Lismore's Bicycle Christmas Tree.
Image: ABC News

Previous Lismore Recycled Art Christmas Tree

The Lismore Council Public Recycled Art Christmas Tree has had a number of reiterations since its first recycled bike tree.

Lismore’s tree for Christmas 2019 was a 7-metre ‘living’, growing structure. It has more than 300 potted plants, 100 metres of tinsel, 250 metres of solar-powered LEDs, 16 pairs of work trousers and matching boots. At the top instead of a star, council staff made a Planta (plant ‘Santa’).

The 2018 Lismore Christmas tree was made out discarded umbrellas.

In 2017 it was recycled road signs.

In 2016 it was recycled car tyres.

The 2015 Bicycle Christmas Tree has been the most popular instalment by far to date. In acknowledgement of this, the council is in discussion for a possible future tree that has sculptural bikes that produce power so that when visitors ride them, the generated power will light up the tree. Sounds similar to Brisbane’s Bicycle-powered Christmas Tree.

A big round of applause for Lismore Council for installing the recycled bike Christmas tree. An inspiring public project that brings community and council together to celebrate sustainability, recycling, community and creativity.

Here’s to more bicycle-inspired Christmas trees!

Happy holidays and safe riding all!

Lismore's Bicycle Christmas Tree.
Image: Road CC

Wadjda – an Arabic girl’s dream to ride a bike

A big thank you to Jenny and Sam for emailing me about this film. I have known about it previously, but have not gotten around to posting about it. Their email provided the impetus to get it done! It is always so lovely to get emails from readers, supporters, family, friends and like-minded people. Happy holidays everyone! Enjoy! NG.

The end of the year is fast approaching and the holiday season is nearly here.

If you are looking for a film to watch over the festive season and are keen to try something totally unique (and bicycle focused), I’d highly recommend Wadjda.

Wadjda is an M-rated Arabic language drama film starring Waad Mohammed, (Wadjda), Abdullrahman Al Gohani (Wadjda’s father) and Reem Abdullah (Wadjda’s mother).

This film is written and directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour and it’s her directorial debut film. The film premiered in 2012 and is entirely shot in Saudi Arabia. As such, it is touted as being Saudi Arabia’s first-ever feature film.

And the whole film has at its core a green bicycle.


What is Wadjda about?

Wadjda is a simple, but poignant story.

It centres on a young girl (Wadjda) and what happens when she pursues her dream of owning a bicycle of her own to race her friend Abdullah, despite it being culturally inappropriate.

Wadjda’s desire to get a bike means facing various family and cultural expectations in a series of ups and downs with her mother, father, friends, bike shop owner and community members.

Despite all, Wadjda is adamant that she needs to own a bike of her own.

To achieve this, the ‘rebellious’ Wadjda enters a Koran recitation competition at her school in order to win the prize money so she can buy a green bicycle. The story is tailored to highlight the pressures and difficulties faced by women in Saudi Arabia. This film has been revered for providing a rare glimpse into the usually secret lives of Saudi women ad what life is like behind closed doors. It is also an exploration and celebration of the warm relationships between mothers and daughters.

I am thoroughly delighted that the ‘first feature film’ to come out of Saudi Arabia has such strong bike riding, cultural/social gender, equity and children’s determination themes, issues and engagement.

The importance of this film has been discussed widely. As Laura Nicholson writes for Dispatch: ‘That a film about a young girl protesting systematic oppression through the succinctly metaphorical dream of riding a bicycle was the first to be recognised as a product of (an emerging) Saudi Arabian national cinema, is exceptional. That the film was created by an Arab woman hailed as the first, Saudi female filmmaker, is monumental.”

Wadjda was Nominated for a 2013 BAFTA award for Best Film not in English.

Read more about the plot, cast, production and the array of awards this film has received here.

Images: All images are stills from Wadjda. Official feature film poster.

Fairy Houses and Mountain Bikes

Recently I happened to come across a YouTube video by a guy called Jonathan Wilkins.

Jon is an everyday guy who lives in the US. He is a mountain biker, runner, camper and loves a good beer.

He has a daughter called Sara who is mad about football (soccer), is an active outdoorswoman and keen musician.

Jon has been uploading short videos on YouTube for 10 years. When he first started out in 2010, he uploaded one video per month. His videos range from 11 seconds to 7 minutes and they document everyday life moments – family outings, work commutes, football highlights, music jams and Sara at various stages of growing up.

In 2019, it looks like Jon set himself a challenge to upload one video per day for the whole year. Each video is no longer than 1 minute.

The video that caught my eye was from Jon’s 2019 collection. It was the title that got my attention first. It was called Day 89: Fairy Houses and Mountain Bikes.

Fairy Houses and Mountain Bikes. Bicycles Create Change.com 13th Dec 2019.
Jon and Sara out MTB riding.

It features his daughter Sara working on a fairy house and then the pair going for a ride in the woods. Perfect!

When I watched this video, it made me smile.

This video has it all – simple pleasures, whimsical creative play, celebrating everyday moments, quality father-daughter time, trying new things (thrills, spills) and getting outdoors – and of course bikes!

I also love the juxtaposition of fairy houses and MTB –very original!

Fairy Houses and Mountain Bikes. Bicycles Create Change.com 13th Dec 2019.
Sara’s Fairy House

It always makes me so happy to see MTB dads getting out with their daughters/kids on bikes – and Jon not only does that, but also incorporates Sara’s interest in the Fairy House into the video as well. GOLD!

This video spoke to me of connection, fun, action, playfulness, diversity and inclusion.

Which is what riding bikes is all about for most riders.

I like watching MTB videos (like on Pink Bike) and appreciate the beautiful cinematography, scenery, skills and soundtracks. But equally, I can be turned off by how polished, white, male, elite rider centric most of the videos are.

I prefer videos that show a wider range of MTB experiences – like riders of all shapes, sizes, places, colours, ages and skills.

And having a twist – and the Fairy House is a great addition. I have seen a few ‘creative’ things on the side of MTB trials – why not MTB fairy houses. Why so serious?

It is also great to see the more experienced male riders – and dads in particular – genuinely encouraging more young girls/daughters to ride more.

Yup, it makes me smile.

We definitely need more videos, men, dads and riders like Jon (and Sara).

Happy riding all!

Fairy Houses and Mountain Bikes. Bicycles Create Change.com 13th Dec 2019.

All images courtesy of Jonathon Wilkins video (see above).

Global Childhood Juxtapositions: World Children’s Day 2019

Global Childhood Juxtapositions:  World Children’s Day 2019.  Bicycles Create Change.com 22nd Nov 2019.
Rohingya refugee childrens waiting for food at Hakimpara refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar. With children making up around 60 percent of the Rohingya that have fled into Bangladesh, many below 18 years old arrived into the makeshift tents highly traumatized after seeing family members killed and homes set on fire. Image: @ugurgallen. Photo: K.M. Asad @kmasad

Regular readers of this blog know that my PhD research explores how bicycles feature in rural African girls’ access to education. This means mobility, education, in/equity, gender justice and children’s rights are central to much of the work I do. They are also reoccurring themes for this blog. I regularly post articles that showcase how bicycles create more positive social, environmental and educational change for all – and in many cases for children specifically.

A few previous BCC posts that feature bikes and kids are:

November 20th is the World Children’s Day.

This year, I wanted to acknowledge this date in a different way.

Instead of sharing a project where children benefit from bikes, I wanted to highlight the juxtapositions of cultural experiences of children around the world.

Global Childhood Juxtapositions: World Children’s Day 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 22nd Nov 2019.
In this photograph taken on April 28, 2018, Afghan children work at a coal yard on the outskirts of Jalalabad. Image: @ugurgallen. Photo: @noorulah_shirzada

Expand your cultural competency

This week in my Griffith Uni 1205MED Health Challenges for the 21st Century class, we discussed cultural competency and cultural safety. I challenged my students to set themselves a cultural competency experiment/activity for homework – something that they needed to do that would push them outside their own cultural box.

It is too easy for us to think that our experience of life is how it is everywhere.

In Western countries, we are very privileged and sheltered. The experiences of being a child in Australia, the US, Europe, Scandinavia or the UK is vastly different than those in less advantaged countries.

To more broadly consider how culture and environment impact children’s lives differently, look no further than artist Uğur Gallenkuş (@ugrgallen) – his work does this uncompromisingly.

Global Childhood Juxtapositions: World Children’s Day 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 22nd Nov 2019.
In October 2018, the United Nations warned that 13 million people face starvation in what could be “the worst famine in the world in 100 years. In November 2018, according to the New York Times report, 1.8 million children in Yemen are extremely subject to malnutrition. Image: @ugurgallen.

Global Childhood Juxtapositions: The work of Uğur Gallenkuş.

To honour 2019 World Children’s Day, I’m sharing some of Turkish artist Uğur Gallenkuş work. Uğur is a digital artist who collages images to highlight binaries, juxtapositions and contrasts in human experience. His work comments on conflicts, political issues and social disparities. Some pieces can be quite confronting, others heartfelt, but all have a clear message and are thought-providing.

Uğur’s work forces us to rethink our privilege and remind us that we need to think, feel and act beyond our own immediate cultural experience.

And that many children worldwide need a voice, recognition and help.

Global Childhood Juxtapositions: World Children’s Day 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 22nd Nov 2019.
A man holds a wounded Syrian baby at a makeshift clinic in the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, on September 26, 2017 following reported air strikes by Syrian government forces. Air strikes killed at least four civilians in a truce zone outside the Syrian capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. Image: @ugurgallen. Photo: Abdullah Hammam @abdullah_hm88 @afpphoto
Global Childhood Juxtapositions: World Children’s Day 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 22nd Nov 2019.
Nine year old Alladin collects used ammunition to sell as metal in Aleppo, Syria. Image: @ugurgallen. Photo: @niclashammarstrom
Volunteers help a refugee man and baby as refugees hoping to cross into Europe, arrive on the shore of Greece‘s Lesbos Island after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on November, 2015. Image: @ugurgallen. Photo: Özge Elif Kızıl @oekizil @anadoluajansi
Global Childhood Juxtapositions: World Children’s Day 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 22nd Nov 2019.
Yemeni children attend class on the first day of the new academic year in the country’s third-city of Taez on September 3, 2019, at a school that was damaged last year in an air strike during fighting between the Saudi-backed government forces and the Huthi rebels. Image: @ugurgallen. Photo: Ahmad Al-Basha @afpphoto
Global Childhood Juxtapositions: World Children’s Day 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 22nd Nov 2019.
A child fighter with poses with a gun at a military training facility during the Liberian Civil War. Image: @ugurgallen. Photo: Patrick Robert @gettyimages
Global Childhood Juxtapositions: World Children’s Day 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 22nd Nov 2019.
Children of displaced Syrian refugee family use paving stones as pillows at Erbil, Iraq in 2013. Image: @ugurgallen. Photo: Emrah Yorulmaz @emrahyorulmaz04 @anadoluajansi
Global Childhood Juxtapositions: World Children’s Day 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 22nd Nov 2019.
Yelena Shevel, 10, who dreams of becoming a vet, learns to put on a gas mask during training at LIDER, a summer camp in the outskirts of Kiev, Ukraine. She believes that “it is important to defend our homeland because if we don’t do it, then Russia will capture Ukraine and we will become Russia,”. Hundreds of children play war games while they are getting trained in military disciplines and in firing tactics. The armed conflict between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists is entering its fifth year; the conflict is still festering. Time for playing with toys is gone. Education, living in dreams. Schools are destroyed by indiscriminate shelling or deliberately turned into military posts. Children and teachers stay at home, afraid to step on a landmine or be caught in the crossfire of warring parties. The house of learning, envisioned as a safe haven, becomes a target. Image: @ugurgallen. Photo: Diego Ibarra Sanchez @diego.ibarra.sanchez @natgeo

See more of Uğur’s work on Instagram -it is well worth checking out.

All images are created by Uğur Gallenkuş.

Inktober 2019

Inktober 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 4th October, 2019.
Image: @loisvb (IG)

Hooray – it is October!

It is my favourite month of the year for many reasons.

It is the best time of the year where I live in Brisbane, the weather is terrific and my garden is flourishing. It is early spring, so it means long warm days perfect for getting out being out riding!

Another great reason is that it is Inktober time again!

Every October, artists all over the world take on the Inktober challenge to produce a piece of work each day for the entire month.

Inktober was first created by artist Jake Parker in 2009. He set it as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since caught on and other creatives now use Inktober as a stimulus to get inspired and get productive: drawers, painters, visual artists, designers, writers, poets, illustrators and more. It has grown into a worldwide event that has thousands of artists taking the challenge every year.

Each year, Jake sets a one-word prompt for each day in the month. This is used to produce a piece of work for each day for 31 days. Many people upload their work online using the official #Inktober or some similiar hashtag/reference to Inktober. Check it out if you’d like to see the range of the work that gets produced.

Here is the Inktober 2019 prompt list:

Inktober 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 4th October, 2019.
Inktober 2019 Prompt List. By Jake Parker.

Inktober reiterations

Previously, I’ve posted about Walt Cahill’s beautiful Inktober collection of bicycle inspired illustrations.

Inktober 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 4th October, 2019.
Image: Walt Cahill

And it is not just artists that use Inktober. There are other month-long ‘output’ challenges. For example, as a PhD researcher and creative, last year, I used National Novel Writing Month as inspiration to make a modified academic writing challenge I called NiAcaWriMo, which went very well. 

2019 Bicycle-themed Inktober artwork

Of course, being bicycle-obsessed, I am always most interested in the artwork that features bicycles. I love how many artist work bikes into their designs.

So, to get us off to a great start this month, here’s a look at some of the 2019 bicycle-inspired Inktober productions.

Inktober 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 4th October, 2019.
Image: Akira’s bike for Inktober 2019 #1 (Reddit)
Inktober 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 4th October, 2019.
Image: Nrvos Inktober 2019 No 2 bicycle
Inktober 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 4th October, 2019.
Image: Catherine V (Dribble).
Inktober 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 4th October, 2019.
Image by Bob Haro. Ed Jones (Pintrest) Inktober 2019
Inktober 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 4th October, 2019.
Image: Michi Mathias. Inktober 2019
Inktober 2019. Bicycles Create Change.com 4th October, 2019.
Image: Michi Mathias. Inktober 2019

South African Bicycle Portraits: Stephanie Baker

Bicycle Portraits - Stephanie Baker (South Africa). Bicycles Create Change.com 24th June, 2019.
Image: Nic Groble Bicycle Portraits

Bike riders are a wonderful reflection of the society in which they live. Globally, there are myriad cultures, styles, approaches and lifestyles, just as there are bike riders and bikes.

It is rare gain access to the lifeworlds of bike riders elsewhere. But this is what Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Groble’s South African Bicycle Portraits project provides.

Bicycle Portraits is a creative 2-year project that showcases everyday South African locals and their bicycles. Through photos Stan and Nic took while riding around South Africa and meeting local bike riders, it reveals who rides, why they ride, and why so few South Africans choose the bicycle as a primary mode of transport.

It was ambitious and simple in its conception, yet community-minded in execution.

For many South Africans, bicycles are the only transport option.

Today, Bicycle Portraits has more than 500 portraits compiled over three years. Stan and Nic have cycled over 10,000 kilometers in order to complete their collection.

It is a wonderful expose and homage to South African bicycle subculture.

It is a fascinating insight into the diverse societal, historical and cultural characteristics that make up the eclectic RSA community.

Bicycle Portrait – Stephanie Baker

Vimeo: Bicycle Portraits – Stephanie Baker

Stephanie is an 82 and ¾ year old Pretorian local, who rides her bike a kilometre uphill every other day.

In addition to being a portrait participant, Stephanie was the only personality that Stan and Nic also made a short video about (see below).

And you can see why.

Most touching is that bike riding has given Stephanie a very particular view of how cycling improves ‘public relations’ and how it helps her connect with the locals.

Unsurprisingly, Stephanie’s wholesome outlook which she aptly describes, has been viewed over 14.7 thousand times.

Stephanie is a wonderful reminder that you are never too old to enjoy riding a bike.

Bicycle Portraits - Stephanie Baker (South Africa). Bicycles Create Change.com 24th June, 2019.
Vimeo: Bicycle Portraits – Stephanie Baker

Bicycle Portraits – Final Result

Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Grobler are publishing their best 165 portraits and stories selected from over 500 images they’ve collected during their 2-year journey.

The selected final portraits are included in 3 volumes. Each book also has includes different 55 stories and two essays – one essay by a local South African and the other by major international cycling figure.

The three books have been produced in collaboration with other local artists. The books are designed by Gabrielle Guy. Also, celebrated South African artist Gabrielle Raaff had created an individual hand-painted watercolor map (based on Google Maps) to indicate where portraits was taken. The final product is impressive (see below).

What a wonderful project to showcase the diversity and characters that make up the unique South African bicycle culture. I would love to see more project from around the world like this!

Bicycle Portraits - Stephanie Baker (South Africa). Bicycles Create Change.com 24th June, 2019.
Image: Nic Groble Bicycle Portraits

Bike Shop Artist Residency

Bike Shop Artist Residency Program. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.

I love seeing art in bike shops.

Bikes and Art just go together.

It is a pairing that makes sense – like bikes and dogs, or bikes and coffee, or bikes and sunshine (*sigh*).

Free Cycles Community Bike Shop is in Missoula, (Montana, USA).

This shop is already a stand out example of a grassroots bike shop that offers a wide range of services, programs and events, including music, performances, theatre, food/organics, trivia, and film nights – in addition to its other bike-related workshops, community events, fundraising, education and outreach programs. Phew!

Free Cycles has a long history of supporting local and visiting artists by providing a performance space for their ongoing creative and artistic program.

To add to this, Free Cycles initiated an Artist Residency Program.

Such a great idea!

Biking is a creative act for many people.

Aside from being a great use of space, resources and networks, having a local artist in a bike shop is a great way to cross-pollinate, motivate and actively support community integration, extension and diversity. Very cool!

Bike Shop Artist Residency Program. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.
Bike Shop Artist Residency Program. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.

Video: Path Less Pedaled

Overview

This project facilitate the creation of art at Free Cycles Community Bike Shop in Missoula for public exhibition/interaction, with used bicycle parts from Free Cycles and recycled materials donated by Home ReSource.

The Artist in Residence Program create a more dedicated interaction between artist and place; practice and environment; art and bicycle; sculpture and community.

Bike Shop Artist Residency Program. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.

What is the artists program?

The Artist in Residence Program at Free Cycles is a new initiative to connect Artists with the Missoula community through the love of cycling.

Artists are invited through a public art call, and when selected may spend up to one month in the warehouse studio.

Here Artists are granted the time, space, materials, and equipment to create.

Artist participants are able to source materials from the thousands of donated bikes in stock on the Free Cycles property, as well as donated and reclaimed construction materials from local materials giving partner Home ReSource.

Upon completion of their residency Artists in Residence are asked to provide one workshop day to staff and volunteers, one workshop day to be offered free of charge to the public, and one work of art suitable for installation on the Free Cycles 2 acre property.

In its initial year the program is set to offer residencies to four local artists.

The program’s goal is to be able to offer artists fair compensation for their educational work and provide a stipend for their time in residence with hopes that future funding can grow these amounts to seek artists in all stages of their careers.

Bike Shop Artist Residency. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.

Why initiate an artists program?

The planning process for this project has been happening informally for many years.

By offering a community space, that encourages citizen interaction, Artists are attracted organically out of their love for creative process.

For more than two decades Artists have been creating with materials from Free Cycles, often in their own shops but sometimes on site.

With the recent purchase of the two-acre property and 28,000-square feet of building space this year has provided opportunity to formalize our artist oriented programming and increase our community workshop offerings.  

This program will ensure the future of the Free Cycles warehouse as a permanent part of the Free Cycles Community Bike Shop’s engagement at a pivotal time in the property’s future. 

Bike Shop Artist Residency Program. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.

Who is ‘MIST’?

MIST is the Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation. MIST is a citizen-based non-profit organization in Missoula, Montana. They have a strong focus on making walking, bicycling, and public transit more complete, accessible and enjoyable.

They work to create a system of movement that is safe, equitable and environmentally sound. Four programs work towards these goals, of which Free Cycles Community Bicycle Shop is one.

Free Cycles Community Bicycle Shop seeks to create a healthy community through a wide range of strategies.

The goal of Free Cycles is to help Missoula, Montana transition to a more sustainable transportation system while simultaneously setting a strong example for other places. 

Through these programs will help individuals collaborate and work to be active stewards of the community with an emphasis on social and environmental justice. The idea is to work towards this mission through education, empowerment, and engagement.

The education programs strive to give people the knowledge to maintain their bicycle independently, use it safely, and eventually share their skills with others.

By increasing the accessibility of human powered transportation, the organisers seek to directly empower individuals from all walks of life with the ability to move themselves.

Bike Shop Artist Residency Program. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.

Free Cycle Projects

These projects focus on community engagement to facilitate a sense of collective responsibility, a strong sense of place, and human connectivity.

Free cycles has had approximately 200,000 total participants to date. There have been 38,000 bikes donated since 1996 of which about half gone out as free bikes while about one quarter have been recycled and one quarter have been repurposed. About 6,000 have taken the BikeWell safety, maintenance, and orientation class.

Bike Shop Artist Residency. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.
Bike Shop Artist Residency Program. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.
Bike Shop Artist Residency Program. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.
Bike Shop Artist Residency Program. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.
Bike Shop Artist Residency Program. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.
Bike Shop Artist Residency. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.
Bike Shop Artist Residency. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.
Bike Shop Artist Residency. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.
Bike Shop Artist Residency. Bicycles Create Change.com. 17th May, 2019.

All Images: Free Cycle website or @freecyclemissoula (IG). This post was adapted from an article first published on Indiegogo.