Exactly a month ago i wrote Bid, Art on Skateboards from Joi Ito to 1st Female Indian Skateboarder Atita Benefit We School India Skatepark…
Well bidding opens tomorrow March 20, 2014 and closes on March 26.
Since my original piece, Ai Weiwei joined list of those offering their Artboard-Skateboard design.
"The board Ai Weiwei provided is an image from his work titled, He Xie, or River Crabs. The quote, “The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility,” is from his book, Weiwei-isms."
Here's his design
As Ulrike Reinhard, one of the main forces behind project, notes there is more than riding a skateboard behind this initiative.
"The Learning Experience
A different way to school ……….
Take a group of rural Indian children between the ages of 8 and 14 years old, who have no formal schooling, and present them with a project-based learning scenario.
You might expect to get at the very least blank faces, and at worst some not very polite language.
But not when the project is to build your very own skateboard!
From the get go you have their attention. And then, when you go on to explain that you have no resources to give them, and they have to go and find everything they need themselves, an excited discussion ensues.
But, first things first…
What exactly is a skateboard?
To what uses could it be put apart from skating?
How big/small could it be to still work?
How heavy does it need to be to stop it tipping constantly?
How big do the wheels needs to be and what happens if you put more or less than four wheels on?
By now the group is totally engaged and coming up with many more questions.
As a group they discuss and generate ways to solve the problems, and chalkstone on a wall serves for a design space.
Some of the suggestions are:
Recycling for materials
Extra wheels
Large wheels
Dog powered
Two skateboards strapped together to provide a wide carrying platform
And many more are discussed.
After the discussion, there is the making, engaging with maths, hand-working, crafting and constructing. Before, finally, the finishing artwork, personal logo and then the testing.
The group of young people have worked their way through a project-based learning that any teacher would be happy to put their name to.
Sure, they had the guidance of a teacher, but she kept her input to a minimum, encouraging the young people to be constantly challenging themselves for answers.
The project might last anything from a week, if the group turn-up every day, to a month or more if they are only meeting together a couple of times a week.
The learning they have made is a secure lifelong learning across a range of subjects, with measurable outcomes and an end goal that is functional and fun.
Children in very different environments and circumstances require learning that is relevant to them and their lives. Often this is not building based, white western European and aimed at university entrance, but local, community based and aimed at improving their, and their communities’ lives."
To get your chance to help the project and hopefully be the proud recipient of one of these unique pieces, all you need is a minimum of 300 Euros ($ 411 at today's rate) and a little chance.
Rules of the Bid
ARTBOARD / SKATEBOARD IS AN INITIATIVE OF WE_SCHOOL, INDIA. Over the last year we’ve done various skateboard workshops – now we decided to build a skatepark in rural India. To raise funds for the skatepark we’ve asked designers, photographer and artists to “design” a skateboard. This site is set up to auction the artboards.
100% of the auction proceeds will go into the project!
The auction will be live from March 20 until March 26, 2014. During this time the YOUR BID button will be activated.
The minimum bid for each ARTBOARD / SKATEBOARD is 300 €.
Get your bids going and spread the word.
(* Images shared with permission, all rights reserved)