This exhibition will map the design evolution of the skateboard from the 1950s to today. It will showcase innovative skateboards and components, alongside skate photography and video, complete with original soundtracks. It will track how skateboarders have taken over sidewalks, swimming pools and skate parks designing new boards to suit their performance, style and surroundings.
Curated and designed by the industrial designer and skater Jonathan Olivares, this will be the first exhibition to explore the evolution of skateboard design in such detail. It will chart the way skateboarding has adapted to different urban environments, with each decade producing new techniques. It will also present the city through a different pair of eyes, with urban spaces and street furniture such as benches, handrails and fire hydrants each offering their own unique obstacles and challenges.
The gallery will reflect this culture, with areas where visitors can hang out and watch clips of skaters using the streetscape in the pursuit of style and “NBD” (Never Been Done) tricks.
