Skateboard decks painted by Greensburg Salem students on display in advance of auction

At the Greensburg Salem School District, art has wheels.

Eighteen hand-painted skateboard decks decorated by high school students are being auctioned off for charity through a collaboration between the district and the Greensburg Business and Professional Association, also known as Shop Greensburg.

The boards feature colorful imagery ranging from outdoor scenes and wildlife to video game equipment, abstract graphics and pop-culture characters.

Until they make it to their eventual new homes after the auction ends April 30, the skateboards are on display in 17 businesses and organizations in Greensburg.

Bidding for a skateboard began at $30, and each has a “buy now” option of $350. Many of the boards have already garnered bids through the online auction at 32auctions.com/gsartsk8, and a few have sold outright.

Proceeds from the auction will benefit Greensburg Salem’s Giving Tree Project — which purchases holiday presents for students in need — and fund art field trips, supplies and exhibit opportunities for students with the Greensburg Salem High School Art Club.

“People are using their talents for the greater good,” said Darryl Audia Jr., one of the Greensburg Salem High School art teachers whose students created the skateboards.

“These are kids who agreed to make something that was going to be donated. To me, that’s really where the recognition should lie — this is an act of altruism.”

Student artwork

The skateboard decks are painted with acrylics, paint pens and spray varnish. They’re meant for indoor display, not active skateboarding wear-and-tear. Each board comes with a wall-hanging kit.

The project is the second time Audia’s students have collaborated with the Greensburg Business and Professional Association for charity. Last year, students worked together to paint recycled chairs from the Greensburg Salem High School library, which were also auctioned to support the art club and Giving Tree Project.

“I was able to track down some affordable skateboard decks, and I said, ‘we could do something a little more individual this time,’” Audia said, noting that each student designed and researched their own decoration ideas. “Instead of the students collaborating on something shared, they were able to do their own.”

Audia is excited to have the chairs visible in local businesses.

“I feel like you have to give kids a real-world context to make anything motivating. If it’s just, ‘Hey, we’re making these and nobody’s seeing them,’ it just doesn’t seem as powerful,” he said. “Really, it’s about getting their work shown. It is nice to do something selfless and charitable, but I also want them to see this as a way to learn how to market yourself as well.”

The businesses displaying the skateboards helped the group by paying for the cost of materials for each board, said Amy Beeghly, president of the Greensburg Business and Professional Association.

“There’s a movement to support local like there’s never been, so we feel that being able to connect students at that age to a local business and to the local business community is a great asset for us as well as to them, to show them what’s in their community,” Beeghly said. “I think it’s been a win-win for everybody involved.”

ArtsWalk celebration

During the upcoming Greensburg ArtsWalk, scheduled for Saturday, April 20, visitors will take self-guided walking tours of downtown Greensburg and explore local, regional and national artworks.

They’ll also be able to follow their maps to check out all 18 skateboards on display in the city.

The students who painted the skateboards will be honored by the Westmoreland Cultural Trust at a ceremony in the ‘Art Alley’ at 11 a.m. on the day of the ArtsWalk. They will receive certificates and banners with photos of their skateboard art to keep.

“Because we are in collaboration with the museum and Seton Hill (University) and act as a bit of a hub for the ArtsWalk, we wanted to offer a connectivity point for the skateboard project, and also wanted to honor the students,” said Sandee Williamson, director of development for the Westmoreland Cultural Trust.

The ArtsWalk is presented by the Trust, along with the Westmoreland Museum of American Art and Seton Hill.

“We are also responsible for allowing those business locations to be listed on the map as well, so that in addition to the student skateboards and the outreach to the students, we wanted to support the local businesses that are supporting the students,” she said.

At the Greensburg Business and Professional Association, Beeghly is excited about the interest local businesses have shown in the collaboration.

“We’ve been very pleased with the response,” Beeghly said. “We think it’s going to do good things, and we think the exposure that will happen through the ArtsWalk will increase interest in the auction and benefit the school district and their charitable aims in the end.”