Long Beach-based clothing brand Polymer_ and pro skateboarder-turned-entrepreneur Mikey Taylor and his company Commune Capital are throwing a group art show and fundraiser for Wilson High School\u2019s arts program (Mr. Szeto, are you still there?!)<\/p>\n
Expect a raffle, refreshments, sounds by vinyl junkie Telegram Sam of The Slop Stomp and works by five artists, including Rose Park local Cody Lusby, whose portraiture was recently released as part of Metro Art\u2019s \u201cMore People Than You Know<\/a>\u201d digital installation series along the refurbished A Line.<\/p>\n https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/video-local-artists-talk-about-their-new-portraits-for-metro-arts-more-people-than-you-know-series<\/p>\n Don\u2019t know if it gets much cooler than this: skaters, entrepreneurs, artists, all in one place, supporting youth and creativity and how it\u2019s not just the physical making of the art that matters, but learning to apply a creative mindset to life in general.<\/p>\n Entrepreneurship is creative, skating is creative, painting and designing is creative and all the more possible when a public school\u2019s arts program is bolstered with that belief. We know this very well, as one of us here at the Hi-lo is a product of that very art program (cough<\/em>, Asia).<\/p>\n A bit more on the artists showing on Saturday. Nicole Monk<\/a>\u2019s minimal lines, shapes and figures remind us a lot of our very own illustrator Jonny Bummers\u2019 work, but perhaps a bit more conceptual, maybe even spiritual. Abstract artist, brand collaborator and children\u2019s book author Steve Fawley<\/a>\u2019s work is bright and bold. Port City Tattoo artist Daniel Albrigo<\/a>\u2019s paintings are realistic, with subtle, fine-tuned shading to be appreciated. Ryan Russell Ward<\/a>\u2019s gorgeous, scribbly flower drawings are a sight to behold, while his more illustrative character work is also worth a gaze.<\/p>\n Much of the merchandise for sale will be limited-edition and inspired by Wilson High colors (so we\u2019re assuming there will be a lot of maroon, yellow and khaki), some pieces are even uniform compliant so, if you\u2019re a student, have at it!<\/p>\n The art, of course, will also be for sale with a \u201csignificant percentage\u201d of sales to be donated to Wilson\u2019s art program.<\/p>\n Another great thing: <\/b>If you have a few free hours to spend before<\/em> the Polymer group show, may we suggest stopping by bookstore Page Against the Machine. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.? You can be audience to an introduction and history of the Peace Corps from Natalie Smerkanich, an active Peace Corps recruiter in the South Bay\/Long Beach region. Hear Smerkanich’s retelling of her days in Palau from 2012-2014 as well as stories from other former volunteers of the do-good organization John F. Kennedy signed into existence nearly 60 years ago.<\/p>\n Giving us a moment\u2019s pause:\u00a0<\/b>Before you go and look up what Palau is on Google, we got you. It\u2019s this tiny island planted in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that is kind of but also, not kind of, neighbors with the Philippines and Indonesia. Cool fact: Palauan society follows a strict matrilineal system, which means the tracing of kinship (i.e. family lines, inheritance and passing of traditional titles), is through the female line.<\/p>\n The art opening runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Polymer_ headquarters; 1565 Magnolia Ave. For more info, check out the event page <\/i>here<\/i><\/a> or on Instagram <\/i>@thepolymer_program<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n