Repurposed skateboards showcase prisoners' artwork at Vacaville Museum

On Friday, the Vacaville Museum kicked off a month-long art exhibit featuring artwork on repurposed skateboards. However, the artists will not be allowed to attend. 

Damaged skateboards that would otherwise end up in landfills have been repurposed and transformed into works of art.

"All of them impressed me," said Cara Dawson, the Vacaville Museum's executive director. "I couldn't do this, right. I mean, these are true artists." 
 
She said the aesthetics and creative expression on the skateboard decks represent talent and individuality.

"I am particularly impressed, probably by this copper board here. So, this is all hand-hammered copper," Dawson said.

The exhibit also showcases a portfolio of 41 artists. 

"You can read about their stories, maybe some of the reasons why they created what they did, and then you're also able to see the faces of the artists who made these as well," Dawson said.

The portfolio is an important part of the exhibit, since the artists themselves cannot attend. That's because each one is a prisoner at California State Prison, Solano.

The incarcerated artists are among the more than 3,000 inmates serving time at this prison.

"Art is something that brings us together and it also helps us, in a sense, forget about everything else," said Elias Ramos, an artist and prisoner at California State Prison, Solano.

Ramos is currently serving a life sentence and started the skateboard project after seeing it at a different state prison. 

For Ramos, the project is healing and impactful.

"You know a lot of us can't go back and take back what we did, but what we can do is make amends by giving back," Ramos said.

Estalin Nolasco is another artist. He is serving a life sentence.

"Despite the decades that we serve in prison, we still have a lot of talent," Nolasco said.

Nolasco describes his art piece as the duality of money that represents so many prisoners.

"And I chose that theme because, well, in 28 years I realized that a lot of people are in prison behind money or due to the lack of money," Nolasco said.

As a group, the artists work as a community, built on trust and collaboration. And for a moment, their creative freedom allows them to escape.

"When I'm drawing, it's just my mind blanks out and I'm in a whole different world," Nolasco said. "That's pretty much what it is to me, an escape."

Before the skateboard project, these same artists completed a mural at the prison, depicting California landmarks and landscapes.

Their artistic talent is now on full display, sending a message from behind these walls.

"A lot of people forget that in here we're also people and with that we have a lot of hidden talent," Nolasco said.

CSP Solano teamed up with Fresno Skateboard Salvage, the nonprofit that auctions off the artistic boards, with the proceeds going back to the community.

The art exhibit at the Vacaville Museum runs through April 12.