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BAD develops, initiates and partners with other local stakeholders to generate festival and event activations across Brookvale
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MOSS Deck Art Show is an exhibition and silent aution of skateboard art where every sale goes directly towards funding accessible clean water systems in Africa. Now in its tenth year of touring major cities, including Barcelona, Melbourne and Sydney, the Show arrived in Brookvale through a partnership with BAD and Bennett Surf.
100% of every deck sale went directly to building clean water infrastructure. The artists donated their work, there were no commissions, no salaries and no overheads. Sponsors donated blank decks, the venue, the DJ, food and drinks and volunteers ran the show.
The party atmosphere was frenetic – with over 200 people attended the show and more bidding online, all together raising over $30,000 for the building of pernament clean water systems in Swaziland.
This year’s lineup included some of Australia’s most respected artists alongside bold new talent. Here are details for five of the particpating artists:
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Kathrin Longhurst is an artist, storyteller, advocate and visionary who started her creative journey in East Germany and eventually made her way to the Northern Beaches. She’s a multi-year Archibald finalist and her portrait of Cate Ceberano won the Packing Room Prize in 2022.
Her large-scale works are exhibited and collected around Australia and throughout the world. Recently, Kathrin has expanded her artistic repertoire to include sculpture. This new medium, while challenging, has invigorated her creative process ‘Sculpting is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and it’s also incredibly rewarding.’
Her journey from a child in East Germany to a leading figure in the contemporary art world is a testament to her strength and passion. Through her art, Kathrin continues to challenge perceptions, inspire change, and empower women, making her a truly remarkable figure in the world of art.
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David McKay is a painter, illustrator, fabric designer and film maker who has successfully blended his career as an exhibiting artist with his work as a Production Designer and Director in the Australian and international film industries. He was also part of the original stable of artists for the irreverent and legendary Mambo brand.
David’s paintings have been extensively collected privately and publicly. His most recent work is a series of native Australia botanicals and landscapes - his ‘Waratah’ piece is part of the NSW Parliament House permanent collection.
Stylistically David continues his long-held love of colour and vibrancy, depicting everyday themes, in a painterly ‘pop’ style with some of his work created on a diverse range of found objects ranging from surfboards to musical instruments…and a skate deck.
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Jimbo Phillips is based in Santa Cruz California where he creates artwork for Santa Cruz Skateboards. His father Jim Phillips designed the Santa Cruz Skateboard artwork during the 70s and 80s and was creator of their iconic ‘Screaming Hand’ logo.
From an early age, working with his father, Jimbo also started creating graphics for the skateboard industry. In the early 90s he established his own graphic design company and continues creating work for skateboard companies plus major brands including Toyota, Nike, Snickers, and Volcom.
He also has signature artist series collaborations with Bell helmets, Electric visuals, Puma and Volcom. You can check out his Skatetrash! app on Itunes.
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Ben Brown is a Northern Beaches local and a global art icon. His illustrations have been described as having a rockstar-pirate-hybrid-Warhol flair. He’s internationally renowned for his prolific band poster work and specialises in poking fun at celebrities, literally peeling back layers of pretense to bare bone.
Ben has been commissioned to produce band posters for many major artists in music delivering imagery and posters for both their Australian and international tours, including Pearl Jam, Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age, Sigur Ros, Pixies, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Cure, Elton John, the latest AC/DC tour…and the list goes on.
Ben was recently selected to participate in the ABC television series ‘Portrait Artist of the Year’ in which he was tasked with painting a portrait of Myf Warhurst (appropriately), a music industry personality widely known for her work in radio and television. As Ben said, ‘We had plenty to chat about and we both come from similar worlds working in music for the past twenty years.’
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Miguel Gonzales (aka M-Lon) is a Venezuelan-Australian visual artist based in Brookvale. Miguel is a multidisciplinary creative, art director and place-maker working at the intersection of culture, community and urban identity. He creates meaningful visual and conceptual identities for projects and places, also creating designs and content for a range of clients including Gucci, Netflix, Westfield and City of Sydney.
Miguel is also Co-founder and Executive Director at Brookvale Arts District (BAD) where he works on combining narrative design, creative production and applied technology to strengthen how the local creative community can organise, communicate and sustain momentum over time.
Miguel has a professional background in architecture and urban design as well as a career in visual arts, digital design, animation and interactive media. Since moving to Sydney in 2013, he’s had a lasting impact on the local art scene with his distinctive style and figurative yet conceptual approach. His work often addresses social issues and human behaviour with powerful conceptual undertone.
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Northern Beaches band Good Kids curated a wild festival party to raise funds for the work Surfers for Climate are doing to protect our oceans. BAD was a proud partner in the event which had a big live music and DJ line-up including the Good Kids, The Darrans, Ghazza, Scoot The Loot, The Budds and more.