BoardWorX – NZSHRED’s recycled snowboard exhibition
NZSHRED’s seventh recycled snowboard art exhibition takes place this week at Sherwood. This year the exhibition is entitled BoardWorX and the concept is an easy one. Any budding artist can turn an old snowboard into an art piece, which is then sold with 100% of the proceeds going to charity. This year’s charity is Happiness House.
Owner of NZSHRED Jase Johns, puts in the mahi to get the event up and running, with help from good friend, co-organiser and happiness house volunteer, Lou. The original idea was sparked by Jase’s sister, who works in the art industry in Australia.
“She was teaching at a college in Aussie and one of the things they were doing at the time, for disadvantaged youth, was following a programme that had been done in the States with skateboards, where they’d hold back kids after school that were getting in trouble and make them do artwork on skateboards. They then got pro-skateboarders and actual artists and put them together with the kids to do an exhibition, with no nametags – so no one knew who had done what. I grabbed that idea and extended it, thinking, how can we help the community charities that are doing some good work?” Johns says.
Most of the people that participate aren’t professional artists, which results in a melting pot of creative and interesting works. Johns makes the process simple for anyone that wants to get involved.
“If you can make it as easy as possible for people, giving them time to do it or getting them the resources, they don’t have to do anything for themselves other than just create a piece of art. It helps that it’s year-on-year, so that people can get a feel of it from last year” Johns says.
Students from Remarkables Primary School are already underway preparing boards for the exhibition. The BoardWorX exhibition will be a relaxing event where people can take their time looking at all the artworks and enjoying themselves.
Johns loves running the exhibition each year and is happy to see the momentum it’s gained. Often people will recommend friends or family to get involved.
“The most amazing thing for me is standing there and watching people come in to look at their piece of art. Most of the people aren’t artists, they’re builders, or lifties, or walk around in a Fluro vest, but they’ve just got a little bit of flair for doing something. If it does anything for the individual, it reminds them that they do have something more in them,” he says.
The BoardWorX exhibition runs until Sunday, 15 September, with prize giving being held on Friday, 13 September, at 6pm.
