EDITORIAL Rachel Horne
To be perfectly honest I’m still in disbelief that this magazine has been received so well by YOU, the good people of the Doncopolitan. This issue, the Republic of South Yorkshire Two Point Zero, or RoSY2.0 for short, asks the question - what would a town or city look like if it was designed by us, its visionaries? It doesn’t matter what your skill is - artist, writer, maker, designer, permaculturist, gardener, thinker, tinker or daydreamer - RoSY2.0 is about taking the metaphorical beast by its horns and thinking big. We’ll be hearing Warren Draper ask how RoSY2.0 could change the face of our little city, whilst Jess Pagan goes behind the scenes at the DNweekeND and reports on what happens when the artists take over. Young writer Sam Batley reflects on the lasting impact of the ‘84 Miners’ Strike, and the Doncopolitan asks crafter and maker Emily Rowley what she thinks would happen if she were ever to be let loose on the streets of Doncaster with a bag of tools. Photographer Steve Bates explores ‘desire lines’ and how we humans like to carve out poetic paths without noticing, and local music promoter Simon Saynor bigs up MapFest, which will see music venues across Doncaster hosting a plethora of live music and art in August. We also pick our favourite creative places that will hopefully help you on the road to realising your creative dream. With tattoo art being arguably Doncaster’s number one art form we couldn’t resist working with Lee Denhem of Sacred Skin. Although we may not have an art gallery on every
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corner like Leeds and York, our fair town is packed with tattoo studios. People round here love getting inked. Lee is a specialist in Old School tattoo art and has created illustrations for this issues’ front cover, inner pages and centrefold. Historically similar to the anchor tattoo adopted by sailors, the miners’ lamp appeared on the forearms of hard-working miners battling against the elements in dangerous working condition. Even though most of the pits across Doncaster have closed, young Doncastrian lads have adopted this tradition in tribute to their fathers and grandfathers. With tattoo art dating back to the Ice Age, the symbolism behind this design will certainly get the juices of a few social anthropologists going. We, for one, are proud to see this counter- culture trend take its place in the tattoo art history books. Ultimately this issue brings together old and new worlds, from tattoo art to the miners’ strike, analysing the way we walk and reinventing the way we live. In the spirit of RoSY.20 let’s ink-up the streets - along with our forearms - and show all the haters there’s more to this little city than meets the eye.
ABOUT This magazine will big up anything which has the potential to add to Doncaster’s metropolitan appeal. We’ll celebrate Doncaster’s culture, arts, style, music, people, fashion, lifestyle, architecture and even, in the words of Warren Draper, "its coal black underbelly”. If you’re a local artist, musician, writer, photographer, fashionista, socialite or social commentator, and have something to contribute to this magazine, please get in touch. Online: doncopolitan.wordpress.com @TheLudicLife @rachelhorne Write to us: Doncopolitan Magazine Church View Centre Church View Doncaster DN1 1AF