The Hawk Foundation Donates $30K to the Rideit Sculpture park!
The Hawk Foundation Donates $30K to the Rideit Sculpture park!
If there was ever a question about Tony Hawk being the man, the argument needs to be put to rest. The greatest skater of all time and his skatepark foundation have donated the much needed funding to help the Powerhouse Productions Rideit Sculpture Park. The big sections of transition erected last year were by no means the end of the project, just the first phase.The second phase should make sense of the "sculpture" part of the name given to the park providing something for those itching for more "street" features.
We couldn't be more stoked to hear this! having gotten personally involved with the building, funding, and skating at this park, I am very pleased that the Hawk Foundation see's the value in what Powerhouse has accomplished so far and is actively helping to move that dream forward.
Being involved in this project has afforded me some amazing opportunities! I got to meet Lance mountain and Joe Brook. Buy A Matthew Barney Piece of artwork that helped fund the park and was featured in the February 2013 issue of Juxtopoz Magazine. I'd urge anyone that supports the idea to get involved, there is still tons of work to be done. Who knows, maybe Tony Hawk will come out and skate it!
"3/27/13 (Oceanside, CA) – The Ride It Sculpture Park began as a renegade attempt to bring life back to a withering Detroit community by building a skatepark. But the skaters and artists responsible for it have proven the effectiveness of their efforts, and now have the backing of the Tony Hawk Foundation to continue expanding what has become a shining example of the Motor City’s renaissance.Attracting nationwide press and accolades for the impact it’s had in North Central Detroit, Ride It Sculpture Park is part of an effort by the nonprofit Power House Productions to develop an artists’ colony and help reverse the trend that’s seeing entire neighborhoods abandoned and blighted. With several adjacent homes housing artists and studio space, the expanding skatepark will weave between, and even through, several of the structures. The Power House Neighborhood, as it’s become known, has attracted visitors and visiting artists from around the world.
The vision and impact of the project were clear to the Tony Hawk Foundation Board Of Directors, which this month voted to award Ride It Sculpture Park $30,000 (which includes a $5,000 personal contribution from THF Board Member Kevin Rose). The funds will help continue the construction of the sprawling skatescape along East Davison Street, which has already become an attraction for local youth.
“Being recognized by the Tony Hawk Foundation, a name synonymous with the highest level of the sport, is a point of pride for the neighborhood,” said Mitch Cope, Co-Director of Power House Productions. “These kids just can’t believe it.
“Ride It Sculpture Park has always been a very personal project for us, in part because it mixes aspects of our youth that were such big influences—skateboarding and art—and also because it has the greatest potential for impact in our neighborhood of any of the projects we’ve done. It’s a focal point for creative, social activity that is free and open to all.”
“We’re proud to support the Ride It Sculpture Park,” said Tony Hawk. “It’s exactly the type of grassroots effort that we hope to see more of in cities like Detroit. I know the surrounding communities will appreciate the positive impact the skatepark project will have.”
The Detroit award was part of a series of grants issued this month by the THF Board Of Directors. Other recipients include similarly inspiring skatepark projects in New Orleans, Louisiana; Boise, Idaho; and Ketchikan, Alaska, among others. In total, the THF Board Of Directors awarded $115,000 to eleven projects in ten States, contributing to the more than $4.4-million the foundation has invested in skatepark projects since 2002.
In addition to Skatepark Grants, the Tony Hawk Foundation provides Technical Assistance to help communities work through the process of developing quality, concrete public skateparks. So, along with the cash to help them build their parks, the newest THF Grant Recipients can also look forward to practical help in working through the remaining stages of their projects.
“I don’t want to oversimplify the problems our city faces,” said Detroit’s Mitch Cope. “But having this kind of support for a project we believe has the potential to be transformational is huge—for the community and the city as a whole.”
