a community spot SUSTAINABILITY project™
My name is Nicholas Pelster, A BFA student at Portland State University. Growing up skateboarding shaped into who I am today. Without skateboarding and the world/ people it introduced me to then I would have never pursued school/ life in the same way I have. Skateboarding is a vessel for connection and exploration of art in many forms.
I started this project in March 2020 by seeing the potential to elevate a space used by so many to the next level. People from all over the City Of Portland were bringing ramps to the abandoned tennis courts to skateboard at Portland State University during the pandemic/ closure of the campus. It became a hub for connection during a time when it was limited. Fulfilling a need for a downtown located space where all ages and backgrounds can assemble daily to skateboard and just exist especially. With the return to on campus learning approaching fast, I knew that it was a critical time to start reaching out to PSU about their thoughts on this space and how it was being used due to it being an abandoned space for some time even before the pandemic. I began by sending out emails to everybody I could think of at the school with my idea of getting Portland State to allow the ramps to exist in the space. That's how this project began. |
ACCEPTANCE/ UNDERSTANDING OF THE SPACE:
After many weeks of email's filled with. "I didn't know there was a skatepark there?" or "Thank's for reaching out but it takes years of planning/ approval and lots of capital to build a skatepark on campus." My message was finally forwarded to Senior Campus Planner, Liz Hoekstra. She was an advocate for the ramps being there even before getting my email. She set me up with interviews with the stakeholders of the space over the next couple of months to gain their approval to push my idea forward. A lot of concerns were brought up in these meetings about the visual look of the space, ramp safety and just concerns about skateboarders/ use of the space. Through month's of meetings and communication, we were able to get all of the stakeholders approval which gained us a letter from Jason Franklin of PSU's Planning, Construction and Real Estate to give us a letter of support of funding/ buildout for new ramps and creating a one year pilot program for the space!
The Courts In March 2020.
CREATING an VISUAL IDENTITY/ POINT OF COMMUNICATION for the space:
COMMUNITY skate day FUNDRAISING/ mohr customs ramp build-out:
MURAL DAY EVENT *VISUAL APPEAL/ Cultural connections/ PROGRAMMING:
VIDEO BY ISAIAH BOUGHN.