Creative mapping aims to deepen connection with the current public space features, through individual and collective processes of observing the neighborhood, which are done by choreographer, participants and performers included in the project. Collective mapping starts a conversation about challenges present in the public space. Additionally, creative mapping complements the process of designing the performative escape walks since it’s focused on gathering information about the relation between the body and the environment. 

What are the specific aspects/features of Trešnjevka neighborhood that create tensions/crisis of physicality for its habitants? 

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INDIVIDUAL (choreographer's) MAPPING PRACTICE

JOURNALS FROM THE PERSONAL ESCAPES (October)

Aim:

• Observing the physicality before, during and after the escape.
• Observing movement, activities, and objects included. 

27th October:

Notes from before:

I'm tired.

I want to experience different spatiality, open space, the freedom in which my body becomes part of the environment, surrounded by permeable environmental boundaries, not buildings and concrete.

My eyes are tired.

I want to breathe deeply.

I feel tension in my hips.

I feel like there is a command (from me to me) to be active, productive, awake and that feeling is not letting me chill.

I want to escape to dismiss/discharge the week's plans, obligations, rush, wishes and needs, endeavors. 

I know I have to travel to my space of escape, through the city towards nature. I hope that this travel will not be hysterical.

Mina (the dog) is here, as another type of energy. I have to adapt myself to handle her energy - she wants to be active, fast.

Notes during the escape:

Pay attention to your steps - do they have to be so fast? Hey, slow down, you are escaping.

My escape often has water in it.

My thoughts are forcefully trying to escape to planning obligations and solving possible problems. It is difficult for me to focus on the present, my head is in the future.

I just sent a message asking about the location I need to take my car for repairs tomorrow. ?? Why do I have to send this question now? I'm thinking about how to get rid of my mobile phone during the escape.

We are encountering the limit - there is a warning at the location that all the dogs have to be on a leash today since there is a fishing competition in progress. From now on, I'm carrying Mina's energy close together with mine. 

We are looking for openings in the greenery to approach the water. I'm looking for a good place to sit. That's what I need to really escape.

I found a place to sit. Mina is not following my tempo. 

She's looking for an occupation, her movement is fast. Our paces don't match. Her escape is different than mine. I'm thinking about going alone next time.

A song comes to my mind - "At the River" by Groove Armada. I decide to play the song. I warn Mina to calm down. She agrees to do so. The sound of the song becomes the most dominant input in the environment. Soon, I begin to harmonize music with the environment - branches and leaves sway in the wind. I notice water rippling. I have a feeling that the sound from my mobile phone is reflecting on the surface of the lake and hitting the shores. The whole environment becomes colored by the song.

I wish I brought my chair with me. The stump on which I'm sitting is a bit wet and uncomfortable. I decide to go.

I notice the change in my pace - I document it.

I'm putting away my phone. 

1st November:

This escape was not planned and I didn't know I needed it. 

The plan was to visit Trakošćanska Street, where the third experiment will occur—to take a walk, briefly map the street, and consider the directions I would offer to the performers. 

It was dark and foggy. While walking, I got a clear desire to listen to the one song by band Porto Morto. This desire was a bit weird because it is a song from their first album and they changed the style quite a lot since then. However, I decided to give in to the desire.
Only about 10 minutes later I realized that at the moment I played the song, I actually decided to listen to the urge to escape. I was walking around the neighborhood without a plan and without needing the plan. I let my body and intuition decide where to go which created space for my mind to wonder. This time I didn't want to sit, I had the urge to walk without stopping. 

I felt fog particles sticking to my face, offering me a nice refreshment to the skin. My body was completely relaxed and I was just walking through streets and parks and didn't bother too much with what I perceived. My senses and attention were resting. My thoughts were completely clear while envisioning the experiment I will carry out. 

That one song turned into listening to the whole album. I wanted to dance on the street.

Notes:

I experienced a lot of mental activity during the day - sitting, reading and writing - it affected my body in a way I didn't realize. 

Music on the earphones definitely creates a different atmosphere and changes the inner state. 

It is nice to remove yourself from the responsibility of deciding where to go - escape?

I feel that during this walk my body was deciding instead of my mind - from the moment of remembering the song and me agreeing to listen to it. 

SONG

INDIVIDUAL MAPPING AS A PREPARATION FOR PERFORMATIVE ESCAPE WALKS (September-December)

18th October - Trešnjevka square

Solo mapping of the location through observing and reporting (audio recordings and writing) about characteristics of a space - Trešnjevački trg (central square of the neighborhood). 

I see cars moving, some aggressively trying to catch the green light. A blue tram is approaching the crossroads.
I see groups of people crossing the road while the traffic light is green. Some of them have bags, they look heavy. I see a group waiting for the tram on a tram station. I see some people running and some people in a hurry to shop.
I see signalization everywhere. It defines the movement of people and cars. Traffic lights define the rhythm of people's movement and direct their decisions. I see some people who violate signalization—they cross the road during the red light or use some random space to cross the road.
I perceive a big building, ex Nama building, which is a Konzum store today. It has huge reflective glass panels.
There is a space to hide from the rain and a space for waiting.
I see a lot of columns that carry cables, traffic lights, pasted ads. I know that I use those columns during the summer as sun protection while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
I see a lot of commercials – betting shop, Fanta, Konzum, concert and performance posters...
The color that mostly occupies space is grey. Signalization and commercials stand out from the grayness.
I hear that the sound landscape is dominated by cars. The humanity is almost not present. Organic is not present. Only machines, devices, traffic lights, horns, construction works.
Two trees stand there as a trace of something organic and natural. I know that they become the only place that can offer shade in the summertime. Especially in the mornings, when the square is crowded, and when the sun is at its peak and you cannot find a shade.
There are two tram stations opposite to each other. People who are waiting on one of them, can see people who are waiting on the one across – if they want to look. When the tram arrives, some of the people from the station across dissapear with the tram. They are „swallowed“ by the tram.

Notes after the escape:

My thoughts are more in harmony with my body. I see clearly how am I going to prioritize my needs with obligations today. 

My pace is much slower than before, and my breathing deepened.

6th November - Trakošćanska Street

I mapped the space to prepare the mapping tools for the dancers and to get to know the components, features, and crises of this space.

The individual mapping process confirmed that the street leaders are cars and chaotic traffic. 38 cars were passing by in 5 minutes, observed from one spot on a street. 85 trash cans on a street, 43 trees, 4 pathways that lead nowhere, 7 benches on 260 meters. There are a lot of areas in which bodies cannot intervene since they're occupied either by cars or bar terraces. A lot of spaces where the body is not wanted or is limited. 

This individual experience helped me determine the main points of making a report from space which will be the first tasks for participants. 

FIRST TASK/REPORT 1:

Notice what is already there? What movement is already present? Map what is happening right now?

By reporting about:

TASK 2:

Join in the existing movement and make a report about your own physicality while participating in the movement.

Parts of the impressions from the feedback session: 

Ema: 

"Very intense experience. I felt like I was separated from everyone even though I stood close to people while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. It was easier to be "closer" to someone when there were only two of us waiting than when there were 10 of us waiting."

Gendis: 

"As soon as I tried to do something different than all the rest of the people, for example change the direction, I felt like I was doing something wrong and that everybody looked at me. After these tryouts I had to find a place to calm myself down - I found an escape behind a construction fence, it was beautiful there. My second safe zone was at the tram station."

Ema Kani:

"I react to the noises - my body is programmed to recognize these noises as something that directs my movement in the space - the sound of a traffic light, stop when you hear the tram, honk means something bad...
Something that catches my attention is the different rhythm in the movement: an old person just standing in the middle of the street while all the other passers-by are rushing to the store."

Ana:

"There is a big point of irritation on the pedestrian crossing because you have to adapt so much - adapt to the other people and their choices which sometimes are not articulated, adapt to the cars that stop at the crossing... There is a moment of a race in the crossing - it's the moment right before the light turns green and when everybody is tense and ready to continue their planned path."

Laura:

"I realized that I pick up the tempo while I'm crossing the road but I also keep this fast tempo after the crossing. My shoulders are up, I'm intense. I tried to slow down after crossing the road."

Mina:

"I realized that crossing the road looks so simple but it is actually a complex compilation of choices, needs, directions and agreement that happens at the moment."

Una:

"While we were mapping the sound in the previous tasks, everything seemed very mechanic and cold. Now, when I was participating in the movement, I felt like I was zooming in on the conversations that encountered me as an organic part of this space - I heard someone's child had smallpox for two weeks, two girls deciding where to sit for a coffee, people fighting on the tram entrance."

Feedback for me: If I'm going to use this task again, I should think about the clash of time of the traffic which is chaotic and practical, with the time needed to perceive the change in the body and what is happening inside. 

* Possible to explore: find a safe space/escape space at the chosen location. 

1) The choreographer presents knowledge about the street while inviting participants to join for a walk.  

Historical facts, describe the organization of the space, specific facts or events. The movement included walking, running, sitting, squeezing through narrow spaces, stopping in green areas...

Participants also shared some of their knowledge and experience about the street.

2) Conversation about activities that are supported in this space

Still walking and observing, critically reflecting.

Characteristics pointed out:

-visible class differences between the old houses and large, expensive buildings -> process of gentrification

-commercialized orientation of the street: bars, shops, insurance companies

-social activities are shaped around consumerism 

-childhood memory: "As children, we could find a place to play almost anywhere except on this street. We always hurried through it, heading straight to the square above." 

-"I never noticed benches in this street. I would never sit here. I only pass through to get to the Trešnjevka square or city center."

*Together we found an abandoned space that we collectively imagined as space for art in the street. -> This was a potential that I didn't use. Insist more on describing our imagined space in more detail. For example: How would a day in our art center look like? 

3) Individual reports about the street 

Task: report with an audio recording about what you see, hear, and experience in the street while walking around. You can wander, and explore spaces that we didn't explore collectively. 

One of the participants accidentally found his escape space which offered him sensory relief from the street. We all visited his escape space following his instructions on how to perceive it properly. -> potential for diving into creating escape opportunities for each other.

4) Associative cards

Using associative cards as a tool for processing and describing how this street affects our body. -> Soon, the conversation focused on the physicality and sensorial experience of the whole neighborhood not only Trakošćanska Street. I let the conversation go in that direction because the knowledge I gathered was valuable for the research.

COLLECTIVE MAPPING

Methods: creative writing and storytelling, audio recordings, photographing, and exploring the space through movement in a collective setting.

I got interesting ways of mapping the space and situations (little stories about the space from the perspective of each participant) at the square from six different perspectives. 

In the collective feedback session, we discussed a few main points:

• movement of the animals (pigeons, dogs...) stands out from the rest of the movement that is present
• all the participants/reporters became aware of the feeling of constant allertness while being in the square - otherwise, you can get hurt by cars, trams, bicycles...
• the difference in the attention of grown-ups (directed, automatic) and kids (dispersed)
• situations that require a person to adapt or compromise the movement (car stops on a pedestrian crossing, people on the pedestrian crossing who don't want to compromise their direction of walking...)
• automatization of the space (signs, sounds) - supports people to be automated

CREATIVE WRITING TASK

The experiment aimed to rethink the characteristics of the street from a third-person view (animal, plant, object), to offer suggestions of placing yourself somewhere in the street and experiencing an interesting detail, and to offer a complete reimagination of the street together with different sensations this reimagination would bring. 

First step: 

Writing tasks for the participants.

Second step:

Intervention in public space.

Literature:

Adams K. (Ed.). (2013). Expressive Writing: Foundations of Practice. Rowman & Littlefield Education.

CREATIVE MAPPING #2 - 3rd December, Trakošćanska Street

Participants:

Trešnjevka residents: Franjka, Dorian, Šimun, Margareta 

Choreographer 

Aim:

Reporting about the current atmosphere of the street (busy hours, working day), observing which type of social contact, movement, and needs are supported within this street, and reflecting on our sensations while staying in the street. 

Literature:

Gehl J. (2011) Life Between Building. Island Press.

CREATIVE MAPPING #1 - 19th October, Trešnjevka square

Meeting with 6 dancers (Mina, Ema, Laura, Ema, Ana, Gendis) to collectively map the space, notice our own state and physicality while being in a space.

Mapping instructions are pre-designed by the choreographer.

WRITING TASK #1

Imagine if you were an object or an animal - what would you do in Trakošćanska Street?

Describing the physicality and sensorial experience of Trešnjevka through associative cards:

Trešnjevka gives me warmth and nervousness.

A feeling of nostalgia for the past times (referring to the working-class neighborhood) and melancholy. It's hard to find my place in the neighborhood.

I always notice abandoned spaces and dream about how to use them.

Trešnjevka has so many faces. This is what sometimes makes me nervous but also like I can always fit in. 

I think the problem is bombarding with sounds. That's why I always have my earphones.

It would be so nice to bring back a homey vibe of the neighborhood - where people chat and where you know your neighbors. 

These observations made me realize it's impossible to separate individual body experience from social and political body. Personal aspects of our existence in the neighborhood are shaped by power structures, cultural norms, and political decisions. 

WRITING TASK #2

Suggest an action and location for someone else.

COLLECTIVE MAPPING - 1st February 2025, Trakošćanska-Park Zvonka Špišića

4 participants, Trešnjevka residents

Question: What are the exact gentrification spots in Trakošćanska street? Where does the clash between "the old" and "the new" happen? 

Locations:

Trakošćanska Street as a sign of a gentrified area vs. Zvonko Špišić Park as a sign of thoughtful urban planning during the neighborhood's history and nowadays as a green potential resisting the change. 

Task in Trakošćanska Street:

Mapping the old-new clash, understanding how that affects the street's activities, content and organization. 

Task in the Park:

Polygon of imagination and sensations in the park. 

Results:

Mapped places of the clash between old and new (added to the map in Trakošćanska Street).

Gathered answers about sensations in the park and about changes and places in the neighborhood (added to the map in Zvonimir Špišić map).

MAPPING OF GENTRIFICATION

Aim: map places affected by gentrification.

Methods: walking, observing, and documenting individually or collectively (with neighborhood residents).

STEPS FOR THE FUTURE MAPPING PRACTICES:

1) The practice of collective mapping starts with a walking conversation about the facts, visible characteristics of space, and possibilities for social gatherings. This process finishes with critical reflection on shared information.

2) I use associative cards to explore how mapped specifics of the space affect our physicality. We are entering into a personal, intimate, and embodied experience of the space. 

3) Collective search for alternatives to reshape negative sensations. 

Principle of mapping: From common to the individual experience!

WRITING TASK #3

Reimagining the space - suggesting an action - describing feeling or sensation.

Question:

Have you noticed any changes in the neighborhood since you've lived here? 

How do these changes affect you or someone you know? Do they affect your condition, perception of the neighborhood environment, sensations, the feeling of belonging...
If possible, list the exact locations where you can notice the change.

Answers:

The park on Zagorska Street is super tidy and green.
Trakošćanska Street has become too crowded with people and cars.
Gentrification - old shops and newsagents are disappearing, replaced by fancy shops and cafes. The new buildings being built are too bulky, they don't fit the space.
It's good that trešnjevački trg and the square near the Dom sportova have been renovated. The parks look better than a few years ago.

Questions:

Where do you feel most comfortable in Trešnjevka (it can be a public or private space)? A place where you feel like you belong. A place that invites you and fulfills your needs. Describe what is special about that place and what feeling it creates.

Answers:

Zelenpark - the feeling of home and communal yard.

Walking area in Krapinska Street. It relaxes me.

Trakošćanska Street because it's alive.

Question:

Is there a space on Trešnjevka that repels you?

Answers:

Okićka Street because of the traffic.

Nova Cesta Street because it's only concrete, asphalt, and messy.

Nova Cesta Street - it is the ugliest street in the neighborhood.