When it came time for Kirkwood Vangeli ’17 to choose a venue for the premiere of his new Fluxus Skateboard Co. video Rolling Shutter, he reached out to Clayborn Temple, the historic downtown Memphis church being restored for use as a community space.
“The Clayborn Temple space fits into our mission as a company not only because it is physically beautiful, but also because it harbors a rich history that complements our focus on working with the community in order to create,” the Fluxus team wrote in their event proposal. Clayborn was central to the sanitation workers’ strike in the 1960s and is being renovated for use as a community space.
While a student at Rhodes, Kirkwood created Fluxus Skateboard Co. out of his passion for skateboarding. He even began filming local skateboarders and worked with Professor Robert Saxe of the Department of History on an independent study about the practice.
The April 28th event involves many segments of the community. Artists including Averell Mondie, Reid Mitchell, and Bryan Martin will be on hand presenting their creations. DJ Space Age, Geist, Godbodyjones, and Epps will provide the music, complete with a dance floor. The doors open at 7:15 p.m. and, at 9:15, Vangeli’s video will screen. Admission is $10 at the door/$5 in advance.
Vangeli co-owns Fluxus with Zac Roberts. Named after a cross-media art movement from the 1960s and 1970s, Fluxus contributes to the Memphis arts community’s development using skateboarding as its medium. During Vangeli’s senior year at Rhodes, his first film Grit Grind Ride, about the history of the Memphis skateboard community, screened at the Indie Memphis Film Festival.
In addition to its video work, Fluxus offers Memphis-inspired skateboard decks and accessories in its online store in order to finance their creative projects.