AS the dust settles after another vibrant Glastonbury Festival, people are resigning themselves to a long wait until the next one, due to take place in 2027.
But now, thanks to the Mayor of Wells, Louis Agabani, his chosen Mayoral charity for the year – the Wells Skatepark Project – and the community of artists who paint the iconic bins at the festival, there will be a unique opportunity to have a little bit of Glastonbury to hang up at home.
As part of a fundraising event for a new skatepark in Wells, an exhibition of custom-designed skateboard decks by artists and creative talents is being organised for October, with an accompanying online auction.
Louis was delighted when Glastonbury Festival agreed to come on board and as a result, 15 ‘bin’ artists have unleashed their creativity on a deck each. The connection with the dynamism of skateboarding is evident at the festival, with the longstanding skatepark situated in the Greenpeace field. “It’s a natural fit – a celebration of art, skating, music and empowering communities,” said Louis.
Holly Larkin, who leads a team of about 100 volunteer painters from all over the world, and oversees the painting of approximately 17,000 bins for Glastonbury Festival, said: “This has been a really fun project and even though we were all working flat out on creating our bin ‘works of art’ in time for the festival, there was no shortage of artists keen to get involved and customise some decks. It felt like a natural creative collaboration.”
A selection of the decks, each as individual as the artists, will be included at the Wells Art Contemporary (WAC) exhibition at Wells Cathedral from October 8 until November 1.
WAC, an annual international open art exhibition, features work from more than 100 artists together with some inspirational community projects, one of which is this exciting skateboard display. There will also be a mini exhibition of the decks held at LOAF cafe in Wells, and at the Heart of the Tribe Gallery in Glastonbury.
The accompanying online auction will run from October 8 to November 30 at www.app.galabid.com/skatewells. The skateboard decks will start at £100.