Cool Calgary: Skateboard zine for new skateparks
Artists will profile skaters in order to dispel myths around the sport
Not all public art involves giant blue rings.
As part of the city's expansion of skateparks, it's commissioned two local artists, Eric Moschopedis and Mia Rushton, to create a zine — a shortened take on magazine — that will feature illustrations and stories of Calgary skateboarders.
"Early skateboarding culture used a lot of zines and it was a way of just disseminating or sharing information among skateboarders," said Moschopedis.
"It was also part of punk and the DIY scene, so it has a long history and we're kind of borrowing that aesthetic."
The finished zines will be delivered to mailboxes in communities where the new parks are being installed — Chinook Park-Kelvin Grove-Eagle Ridge (CKE), Southwood and Huntington Hills.
Dispelling myths
Skateboarders who want to be featured must submit a selfie and fill out a questionnaire.
"The questions are pretty silly, actually," said Moschopedis.
"Some of them are serious like, 'What's your worst injury,' and, you know, people have broken ankles or hurt their back really bad or hit their heads and had concussions or whatever it might be. Some of them are funny like, 'Who do you like better, your grandma or your grandpa?'"
The two artists say they're approaching 50 submissions already, with a few trickling in each day, and there are people from all walks of life.
"We wanted to kind of have a way to profile all of the diversity of users of the parks, and kind of dispel some of the myths about who a skateboard park user is," said Rushton.
"And that it's not just teenagers who are maybe going to spray paint their garage," adds Moschopedis.
If you're a skater and want to be featured in the project, head to ericandmia.ca/skateparks.
This summer, the Calgary Eyeopener is featuring people contributing to the "cool factor" of our city. If you know someone who is making Calgary cool, send an email to eyeopener@cbc.ca