BENEFITING: POWER HOUSE PRODUCTIONS LLC
DEADLINE TO GIVE: Dec 01, 2011
HOURS PLEDGED: 120


HERE'S THE STORY:

To build on Power House Productions' mission of rethinking the potential and sustainability of an aging inner city community, we are currently seeking funding for a neighborhood sculptural bike and skateboard park, Ride-it Sculpture Park. First and foremost, the park will be sculpted and formed with aesthetics in mind; a park that can be skated and biked by professionals and novice alike. The goal of the park is to create a space where neighborhood teenagers and adults can meet, play, create, build and exercise, effectively keeping them out of the oft routine of boredom induced destructive behavior while allowing them a place to freely express themselves creatively, physically and even civically.

To accomplish this, PHP recently purchased four vacant commercial lots with an adjacent vacant house as the main site for the project. The house will serve as a mini indoor park, transforming parts of the house to be skateable and livable at the same time. The house will also function as a visiting skateboard artist residency as well as care taker residents for the park. The commercial lots are the main site for ramp and bowl building, however the intention is to build the park in small batches not just at the main site but throughout the neighborhood within various abandoned and neglected back alleys, garages and empty lots, thus creating a new and positive use for neglected and often dark crime ridden corners of the neighborhood.

THIS FUNDRAISER IF FOR PHASE 1

To begin we need to assemble the team, get them to the site and build something.  Something we can look at and skate and look at again and say that THIS IS IT!  Because we are shooting for something a little bit diffferent we are raising moneys to get all these great people together to experiment in several locations around the hood, a little concrete bump here, a nice transition here and a little path through the field there.

Our Team consists of both artists and skateboard industry professionals that are from the target area neighborhood and from across the country. They are all involved because they believe this to be a unique and challenging project that could be good for art, for skateboarding and for the community.   We are very fortunate to have the help of Joe Brook, who has been crucial in organizing the professional park builders and industry leaders.  Joe has been working on this project from the day we mentioned the idea to to him three years ago, building momentum and raising valuable funds along the way.  As a professional skateboard photographer he has garnered the support and excitement of the industry in helping us get started.  He is highly motivated and passionate about seeing this project through and has been able to spread that to other industry professionals who are coming to help. Those committed include filmmaker and photographer, Greg Hunt, and professional skater and skate park builder, Tony Miorana.

With the closing of most recreational facilities and lack of art venues in the city we are combining these two aspects of livable and sustainable neighborhoods into one philosophy which runs through all our projects.  The Ride It Sculpture Park is no different, with the exception that it is half art, half sport.  The involvement within the community, especially within the immediate neighbors of the project is essentially to our process.  The neighbors surrounding the project couldn’t be more enthusiastic, especially the kids.  It is our goal then to make sure they are involved in the building and even design work of the park so they understand what it means for their community and more than just a fun place to ride and hang out.

THANKS TO:  BIll Ciesliga for helping with the video editing, Easton Grainer and Charlie Ours on sound and Jon Brumit for making the music happen.  And the Kids on Grant Street, we promise the park will not suck.