Surfboard-Art Auction Fundraiser: Upcoming Little Italy ArtWalk

SAN DIEGO, CA – A surfboard-art charity auction will be featured as part of the upcoming Mission Federal ArtWalk in San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood with 35 upcycled surfboards. The artfully transformed boards will be auctioned off through a silent auction online and in the Piazza della Famiglia during the event April 27-28.

The Mission Federal ArtWalk will be back for its 35th year bringing San Diego’s Little Italy a weekend-long premier arts and culture event on Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28.

The Surfboard Art Auction is a partnership with Rerip, a nonprofit organization that specializes in repurposing surfboards to minimize waste, and will benefit ArtReach, Mission Federal ArtWalk’s nonprofit partner that delivers visual-arts education to underserved K-8 schools throughout San Diego County.

Rerip will provide 35 upcycled surfboards for artists to transform using various mediums including painting, mosaic, woodwork and more.

“We are beyond thrilled to partner with Rerip this year to benefit ArtReach and support the San Diego art community,” said Sandi Cottrell, director of ArtWalk San Diego. “With Rerip’s generous donation, artists are able to express themselves creatively while helping ArtReach achieve its mission of providing free art classes to students who don’t have access to art programs in San Diego County!”

Popular singer-song writer Jason Mraz is participating and has created his own one-of-a-kind surfboard that will be available for auction online and in person at Mission Federal ArtWalk, where the surfboards will be on display.

In addition, San Diego artist Jeremy Sicile-Kira, an artist with autism and synesthesia --the ability to see letters, words and emotions in color -- is painting a surfboard, according to event organizers. Sicile-Kira is nationally known for his ability to use his unique visual processing to ‘read’ people and organizations’ colors and then take what he sees to create beautiful works of art, they said.

Other artists participating in the Surfboard Art Project include: Wade Koniakowsky; Norm Daniels; Michael Rumsey; Ruth Fromstein; Darlene Katz; Charles Adams; and many more.

The Surfboard Art Auction bidding will open online in mid-April and continue throughout the two-day weekend event. Interested bidders can register online now and view the surfboards on both the Mission Federal ArtWalk and ArtReach websites, as well as at the event in the Piazza della Famiglia between India and Date Streets.

Mission Federal ArtWalk will be located between Ash and Grape streets in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28. Attendance is free. For details about Mission Federal ArtWalk, visit www.artwalksandiego.org.

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