Skate Culture

Skate Culture is a major exhibition about one of the most high-profile subcultures of our time. From a small-scale hobby rooted in Southern California’s surf culture in the 1950s, skateboarding has become today a global billion-dollar industry that, in addition to skateboards, also includes clothing, shoes, gadgets, music and movies.

Still photography and video are crucial prerequisites for how the skate culture is spread and experienced. Skating is a visually based subculture and both in the skateboard industry and at grassroots level, the camera is important for communication and exchange.

The exhibition at Bildmuseet contains everything from movies, videos, and still photography to street art, music and clothes. In total, some 15 people with different connections to the skate culture participate in the exhibition: from legendary professional skateboarders such as Ed Templeton and Pontus Alv, to skating photographers such as Scott Pommier and Mike O’Meally, as well as artists such as Jakob Kolding and Gardar Eide Einarsson.

Umeå’s own skate culture is presented in newly produced films, skateboards, clothes and a rich selection of photographs. A new skateboard ramp is being built at the Bildmuseet at Gammlia, in collaboration with Umeå Municipality. In addition, in collaboration with the Kulturverket organisation in Umeå, schoolchildren in Umeå have designed new skateboards especially for this exhibition.

Curators: Jonas Ekeberg and Gardar Eide Einarsson. In collaboration with Preus Museum, the national museum for photography in Norway.

Participants: 

Pontus Alv (Sweden)
Cheryl Dunn / Mark Gonzales (USA)
Gardar Eide Einarsson (Norway/USA)
Marius Engh (Norway)
Wiebke Groesch / Frank Metzger (Germany)
Tuukka Kaila (Finland/UK)
Jakob Kolding (Denmark/Germany)
Fred Mortagne (France)
Mike O'Meally (Australia)
Scott Pommier (Canada)
Tommy Solstad (Norway)
Craig Stecyk (USA)
Deanna Templeton (USA)
Ed Templeton (USA)