The Skateroom: Skateboarding and Art for Empowerment
Besides being pioneering names in the art world, Paul McCarthy, Ai Weiwei, Chéri Samba and Andy Warhol, have each had some of their most unforgettable works come to life on skateboard decks, thanks to The Skateroom.
The Skateroom, a social entrepreneurship and not-for-profit based in Brussels, collaborates with contemporary artists to produce limited-edition skateboards featuring their works of art. Their mission is simple: use skateboarding and art to empower youth. The artful boards – which can be hung on a wall, or used for grinding rails at your local skate park – are sold to the public and provide financial support for international social projects. One organisation they directly support, Skateistan, helps disadvantaged youth in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa find a healthy means of staying off the streets through skateboarding and education.
Behind The Skateroom is Adrien de Liedekerke and former Belgian art dealer Charles-Antoine Bodson, who is a collector of skateboards himself. In 2012, Bodson met Australian skateboarder and Skateistan founder Oliver Percovich. Bodson was so impressed by the work of Skateistan that he decided to sell part of his skateboard collection to provide money for the organisation. But he also decided to go one step further – producing skateboards himself and working with iconic artists to replicate their work on the boards. Thus, The Skateroom was born.
Speaking to fluoro, de Liedekerke says that their line of boards with Paul McCarthy, a bold LA artist whose intense critiques of consumerism have raised eyebrows and churned stomachs the world over, was one of their flagship collaborations, generating $200,000 for Skateistan’s skatepark in Johannesburg.
“One of the highlights in The Skateroom journey was the collaboration with American artist Paul McCarthy in 2015 – the sale of that series provided majority of the funding for the first Skateistan skatepark in Johannesburg,” says de Liedekerke. The state-of-the-art skatepark is combined with a three-story education centre in addition to flexible office and classroom spaces.
“At the opening of the park, it was amazing seeing the children skating alongside greats such as Tony Hawk and Oliver Percovich, without knowing who they were or caring in the slightest!” he says. “It was just heartwarming watching little girls practicing the sport for the first time and enjoying it. It lit our hearts up and is totally the reason behind why we do what we do.”
The Skateroom’s pieces are sold both online and through partnerships with the likes of the MoMA Design Store in New York City, Colette and Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and Corso Como in Seoul, Shanghai and Milano. Their collaborations with the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Art and artists such as Ai Weiwei have also been highlights throughout the organisation’s journey.
“It’s important for us to work with artists we respect, like and admire – and likewise, they have to be interested in the work that we do,” says de Liedekerke. “Artists have a strong influence in voicing the expectations of people, the inequalities, the abuse of power, the injustices. But also provide hope, joy, and freedom too.”
Producing boards at The Skateroom entails a special process: the artwork, which is layered on top of the board, is given special care to make sure that the art itself is respected, honoured and will last through potentially years of skateboarding. The boards themselves are derived from sustainable forests in Canada, as another important driver for The Skateroom is to try to be CO2 neutral. “We try to do our best at changing consumer habits, and make buyers/collectors become active players in social responsibility,” says de Liedekerke.
In regards to The Skateroom’s recent projects, de Liedekerke referenced a roll call of high-profile artists that the organisation has been working with.
“Some of our recent collaborations include an exclusive edition with the contemporary African artist Chéri Samba at Fondation Louis Vuitton and the launch of a collaboration with English artist Grayson Perry at Serpentines Gallery in London to honor his exhibition, ‘Grayson Perry. The Most Popular art exhibition ever.’”
The project with Chéri Samba saw the Congolese artist’s “J’aime La Couleur”, a bright and flamboyant piece, reproduced for a line of boards by The Skateroom. Part of the “Art/Afrique, le nouvel atelier” exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton collection this summer, the piece is a faithful addition to The Skateroom’s series of powerful and thought-provoking renditions.
The Skateroom has also made their way to international art exhibitions. The organisation launched a new collection decks as part of a continued collaboration with The Beyeler Foundation, which runs an art museum in Basel, Switzerland, during Art Basel 2017. The partnership saw one of the series of boards – “Flowers”, which features some of Andy Warhol’s most iconic works – displayed for art and skate enthusiasts alike.
Research by Slavica Habjanovic.
—
