Tioga Arts Council (TAC), in partnership with Do Rad Things and Owego Free Academy (OFA), is honored to announce a community-wide event, an exhibition featuring artwork by 150 students calledAscension: A Student Skateboard Art Exhibition.
The exhibition opens on the First Friday, March 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Tioga Arts Council, 179 Front Street, Owego Home, 173 Front Street, Experience Tioga, 200-204 Front Street, and Lucky Hare Owego, 17 Lake Street.
The public is invited to explore this unique showcase of student creativity and immerse themselves in an eveningof art, culture, and community, and stay late to enjoy Downtown Owego.
About Do Rad Things & The Project
With generous funding from The Floyd Hooker Foundation, TAC received a grant to bring an internationally recognized artist, Mark Rivard, and his program, Do Rad Things, to Owego Free Academy in March 2025. Specifically, Rivard will lead seminars Monday, March 3, through Thursday, March 6, with content that includes a motivational speech, art as entrepreneurship, design sessions using the skateboard as “canvas,” and one-on-one instruction. The week will culminate with a public exhibition on Friday, March 7, 2025, in downtown Owego.
Rivard’s approach is student-centered; participants use the skateboard deck as a cultural tool and actual canvas to create a work of art that tells their own story under his guidance. During the residency, participants will also discover the value that their creative vision can have as a profession and as a community asset.
Drawing upon the lessons gained through Rivard’s visit, TACplans to match these efforts and spearhead an Artist as Entrepreneur curriculum to help artists of all ages gain the knowledge and tools needed to build a successful creative career, as well as facilitate a related Public Art Project—commemorating Rivard’s time in Owego.Over time, this program aims to be the first step toward developing a culture of art as a practical form of entrepreneurshipand as an act of civic engagement in Owego, NY.
First Friday Information:
- Owego Locations:
- Owego Home, 173 Front Street
- Tioga Arts Council, 179 Front Street
- Experience Tioga, 200-204 Front Street
- Lucky Hare, 17 Lake Street
- Opening Night Date, Time & Activities:
- First Friday: March7, from 5 – 7 p.m.
- Artist Talk: First Friday, March 7, at Tioga Arts Council at 6 p.m.
- Post Event: Lucky Hare Owego and other downtown locations and restaurants.
