Boards Across Hermosa

Rock, Roll & Rebel with….

....(Skate)Boards Across Hermosa, a city-wide art installation that pays tribute to Hermosa’s unique history is currently on display in Hermosa Beach businesses through St. Patrick’s Day. Using skateboards as the canvas, 83 artists have created 92 pieces of art. The skate art is up for auction with sales benefitting Indivisible Arts, a Hermosa non-profit a South Bay 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to cultivating creativity, consciousness, and connection through the arts. The exhibit and auction comes to a close on March 18 at Indivisible Art’s State of the Art fundraising gala.

Artists range from professionals whose works sell for tens of thousands of dollars to Hermosa Valley and View art students just discovering their talent.

Skateboards have a meaningful history in Hermosa Beach. Skateboarding Hall of Fame icons, manufacturers and innovators all started their careers here in Hermosa Beach, and in 1963, the first skateboarding competition was held at Hermosa’s Pier Avenue School (now the Hermosa Beach Community Center). Academy Award nominated Skaterdater (1966), the first skateboarding film ever made and nationally distributed by United Artists, was shot entirely in the South Bay. Today, skateboarding is a preferred mode of transportation in Hermosa, with skaters a constant sight in the street, the Strand, and parking structures throughout Hermosa.

The exhibit’s theme “Rock, Roll, Rebel: Hermosa Beach” is a tribute to Hermosa’s history of cultivating different approaches to music, art, literature, sport, and lifestyle. Among the skate art, boards reflect Hermosa’s punk legends Black Flagg, The Circle Jerks, and Pennywise, jazz musicians at The Lighthouse Café, roller skaters that went afoul of the city police from time to time, the Hell’s Angels that made Pier Avenue their headquarters, as well as legends like Jim Morrison who is said to stop at Mickey’s Deli to grab a sandwich from time to time. Other boards reflect Hermosans chill approach to life, surf, and the beach we call home.

Go see the skate art at businesses below!