VCUarts Department of Sculpture + Extended Media lecture: Alexis Sablone

The Department of Sculpture + Extended Media in conjunction with the Richmond City Public Art Commission present a visiting artist lecture by Alexis Sablone happening from 6-7 PM November 12 at the ICA. Alexis Sablone is an architect, designer, and multidisciplinary artist, as well as a professional skateboarder and Olympian. They hold a BA from Barnard College, Columbia University, and a Masters in Architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where they were both the Ida C. Green Fellow and recipient of the Imre Halasz Thesis Prize. Much of their work brings together their two worlds of architecture and skateboarding through the design of hybridized playscapes and large-scale interactive sculptures in an ongoing exploration and interrogation of public space. Skateboarding, if nothing else, has provided an interesting case study for designers, as skate spaces consistently show themselves to be creatively used, shared and beloved by a broad, diverse, and growing community. This diverse usership—cutting across spectrums of skill level, age, race, and gender—demonstrates the potential that public play spaces hold, not just for skateboarders, but beyond. Alexis is a fellow at University of Chicago’s Gray Center for Art’s and Inquiry, where they recently co-taught a course about the intersection of skateboarding culture, performance, and urban space.

A seven-time X-games medalist who competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Sablone recently collaborated with Converse and Nike on a limited-edition sneaker collection. They also designed the skateboarding federation kits for the United States and Japan for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where they acted as the head coach for the USA Women’s Skateboarding Team.

Sablone’s large-scale interactive sculptures can be found in Malmö, Sweden; Montclair, NJ; Lisbon, Portugal; and soon Richmond, VA. Their skateable Sun Seed installation at Southside Community Center Skatepark is slated for completion in early 2025, made possible by the City of Richmond’s Public Art Commission through its Percent for Art Program.