Women For Peace! Skateboard deck created for the SF Skate Club's Push It Forward 3 exhibition and fundraiser at the Luggage Store Gallery in April 2018. The text is in English and Farsi.

Women For Peace, skateboard deck in Farsi and English, 2018.

Women For Peace!

In 1990 as an undergraduate student at the University of Oregon, Megan Wilson co-founded an organization, Women For Peace as a result of the U.S. involvement in the Middle East that led to the Gulf War. WFP held weekly support groups for women and organized public events (film screenings, talks, forums, concerts etc). Sadly, today the United States continues to violently intervene in the Middle East under the guise of peace, while the reality is the same as it always has been: to protect and advance the interests of those with power and money.

The deck Wilson created for Push It Forward 3 is a reflection on her activist/artist roots and this continuing state of affairs. Using the strategy that she often employs to highlight social/political messaging – to combine these messages with imagery that is decorative and design-based as a way to draw viewers in - Women For Peace! is written across the board in English and Farsi. The work also incorporates the decorative craft of quilling that Wilson was taught as a child by her grandmother – Wilson was thinking about the girls at SF Skate Club and the importance and power of female mentors in their lives.

San Francisco Skate Club

San Francisco Skate Club strives to provide a safe, positive, and fun environment for youth of diverse backgrounds to pursue their passion or desire to skateboard, meet and form friendships with other young skaters, and learn from experienced skateboarders who are role models in the community.  We believe in children’s creativity, individuality, and openness to learn new things.  We nurture the ability to set goals and take risks in a safe environment.  Above all else, we strive to ensure that everyone in our community feels accepted, respected, and appreciated.

https://www.sfskateclub.com/