Skateraid artists will not go quietly...

Kosmo Vinyl created this tribute to Gil Scott Heron & Joe Strummer for SkaterAid 2014.

The 10th & final SkaterAid "skateboard/music/art" festival is September 28 from 2 - 7PM at East Decatur Station in Decatur, Georgia. SkaterAid is produced by a dedicated group of volunteers, and 100% of the proceeds benefit the Georgia Chapter of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. 

A big part of the event is the 'Art Deck Auction'. Months before the festival, artists are invited to create original works using skateboard decks as canvases. Some paint, some draw, there's mixed media collages (as seen above), 3D works and the occasional 'functional' piece, such as a rope swing or a coat/hat hanger. It's been announced that this is the last SkaterAid, and a record 135 art decks have been donated this year.

The art decks are on display now at the Brick Store Pub, in the heart of the historic Decatur Square. If you can't visit in person, you can view (and bid on) all of the decks online. The final auction takes place at SkaterAid on September 28, so you'll have to find someone to place your final bids for you if you can't make it to the event. You can contact the SkaterAid folks if you don't know anyone who will be attending, and they'll be happy to try and connect you with a volunteer to bid on your behalf. 

Upstairs and to the Left in the Belgian bar, a selection of decks featuring a 'longboard' by Ruth Franklin.

With 135 decks, there are too many highlights to write about here, so this being a 'British Art Blog', we'll talk about 'the Brits'...
Ruth Franklin, who calls Decatur home, has been painting decks for SkaterAid since the beginning, often donating two per event. She found a vintage longboard this time around and painted one of her distinctive, expressive figurative works on it. Of all the decks she's painted for SkaterAid, it's my favorite! It's hanging Upstairs and to the Left in the Belgian bar, and it really stands out when you enter the room. A true classic!

Since this is the last SkaterAid, we asked Kosmo Vinyl if he'd like to contribute and he happily obliged. His punk/pop aesthetic is well suited for a skateboard deck, and his features an 'A side' picturing Gil Scott Heron & Joe Strummer and a 'B side' with Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. It's a highly collectible piece on many levels, and we'll be bidding on it ourselves!  

September 28 will be an exciting, albeit bittersweet, day in Decatur. See you at SkaterAid...