Sounds, Skateboards and Spray Paint… the recipe for a great Summer Slam

On Sat 2 July our courtyard got a bit of a makeover, or perhaps a better way of putting it, is we had a bit of a TAKEOVER by a hoard of creative young people as part of the very first (but hopefully not the last) Summer Slam.

The event was hosted by Our Biennale, a Kirklees-wide festival of creativity for children and young people and promised an afternoon of entertainment that included skateboarding, street art, spoken word, DJ sets and live bands. A tall order but Summer Slam certainly delivered.

With the outdoor seating pushed to the side, the courtyard slowly became filled with ramps and obstacles as Halifax-based Skate it Yourself constructed a bespoke pop-up skate park. Something we didn’t know is that the smooth stone tiles of our courtyard are the perfect surface for skateboarding, or so we’ve been told by the many skate enthusiasts (some as young as 5!) who attended.

Providing the perfect backdrop for our skate park was our courtyard stage which hosted a variety of young musical talent curated by Jam Factory. It started out with the brilliantly named alt-rock band Strings & Things, as well as sessions from crowd-pleasers Alarm77 and Seattle-grunge inspired High Times. The live music peaked with the arrival of Nylon Smile, who entertained the crowd with their own original material. In between live sets we were treated to DJ sets from Toby Clifford, aka BabyFace, who played a selection of house, garage and a few 90s bangers that were enjoyed by audiences of all ages.

Also joining us for the afternoon was Northern Mural Co., led by the brilliant Leah Brown who encouraged everyone to graffiti their own vinyl records to take home. An amazing collaboration happened when they used bold, bright colours and patterns to decorate the ramps in the skate park, making them even more exciting for the young skateboarders to ride and eyecatching for the audience to watch. A few lucky participants even got their trainers sprayed with unique, one of a kind designs.

All in all it was a great day, a true celebration of the young emerging talent here in Kirklees. Same time next year?

Want to check out some of the amazing artists/acts/organisations we worked with? Find out more on their Instagram:
Skate it Yourself
Northern Mural Company
Jam Factory
Our Biennale