By TRT Staff with notes from woodlandculturalcentre.ca
BRANTFORD — On February 6, the Woodland Cultural Centre announced its partnership with the Skateboard Project 2023.
As explained on the WCC website, “the Skateboard Project is an initiative that aims to promote Onkwehón:we artwork, active bodies, and collaboration between cultural centers across multiple Indigenous communities.”
In the second year of the project, five communities came together including: Kahnawà:ke, Kanehsatà:ke, Kenhtè:ke, Ahkwesáhsne and Six Nations to create seven skateboards graphics showcasing a range of styles and cultural imagery.
“Skateboard culture values inclusivity, individuality, creativity, and freedom and blending these with Indigenous traditions has created a project that connects communities through local art and skateboarding,” reads the WCC website.
Profits from skateboard sales will go towards compensation for the artist’s work and to help fund events related to Go Skate Day, Indigenous Day and First Day of Summer, on June 21.
The WCC will feature the seven skateboards from the participating artists in its online gift store and in the Stan Hill Gallery starting Saturday, February 18.
Skateboard culture values inclusivity, individuality, creativity, and freedom and blending these with Indigenous traditions has created a project that connects communities through local art and skateboarding.
In 2015, a skate park was opened on Six Nations by a committee that collected over $250,000 to construct it under “Project Skate Park.”