For years, the front square of the Dortmunder U has been a central meeting point of the local skater scene. The reception has not always been positive, so there has been tension between skaters and non-skaters on more than one occasion. The exhibition The Art of Skate revolves around this very conflict. It offers a change of perspective that lets you in on the creative potential of skateboarding.

Participation is key here. Intermedial exhibits make the skateboarding phenomenon "tangible" to the public. Even if you have never been on a skate board, you can experience the feeling of rolling through the streets of Dortmund via a 360° video installation, or follow the process of developing a cool trick from several perspectives. Several skating-related workshops invite you to try it out for yourself. Or shop at a nineties skateshop installation and find some rare issues of the infamous Lodown Magazine.

The exhibits address both the history of skateboarding and the skaters’ view of their urban environment. Photographers and artists from the skateboarding scene show how it has influenced their artistic development.
The aim of the exhibition is, on the one hand, to portray the multi-faceted, interdisciplinary potential of skateboarding as an art form and, on the other hand, to promote a dialogue regarding the different areas of life of skaters and non-skaters.

The exhibition is a cooperation project of the UZWEI with the Arts and Culture Center Azkuna Centroa Bilbao / Spain and is being developed in collaboration with members of the local skate scene.

Duration: Fr 10th of May – Sun 30th of June 2019 at the UZWEI, 2nd floor of the Dortmunder U

Opening: Thur 9th of May, 6 p.m.

Admission free!

Opening hours: Tue, Wed, Sat, Sun 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. // Thur + Fri 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

For more information on the running program, please visit aufderuzwei.de

Funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science NRW, sponsored by DEW21, Part of the EU-project smARTplaces of the Dortmunder U and co-financed by the program Creative Europe of the European Union.