First Annual
Skate Deck Art Show
A new art show celebrating local creativity through custom skateboard deck art that celebrates originality and human creativity.
Photo by @lovethelongrun. Taken at the 3rd Annual Lowbrow Classic, Grand Junction, Colorado. ©2024. All Rights Reserved.
November 14, 2026
at Perth County Moto
2980 Forest Road, Stratford, Ontario
What the hell is "Lowbrow North"?
Inspired by the Lowbrow Classic held in Grand Junction, Colorado at First Street Tattoo - we seek to bring the same energy to our event here, north of the border.
We're teaming up with Perth County Moto to showcase the artists, their ideas, their work, their stories, and bring together a community that supports it all.
Throw something on a skateboard deck - paint, crayon, stained glass, whatever- and share your creation with the world. The skateboard blank is just a uniform canvas to bring some commonality. What you do with it will be up to you.
This is an opportunity to showcase local and regional artists - whatever their background.
Painters, illustrators, moto fabricators, students, crochet-ers, designers, hodge-podgers, and makers. Outsiders. Weirdos. Creators.
Lowbrow has been and will continue to be for the people, by the people - whatever form it takes, wherever it happens.
Perfection isn't the goal.
Originality is.
Putting in the work is.
Celebrating human creativity is.
We care about the art.
And more importantly,
the people making it.
Deck by @sierra_does_tattoos for the 3rd Annual Lowbrow Classic, Grand Junction, Colorado. ©2024. All rights reserved.
An insult, worn as a badge.
Back in 1970s California, a group of artists - car painters and modifiers, tattooists, comic book artists, punk flyer makers - were making work the gallery world wouldn't touch, so somebody started calling it "lowbrow" as a joke. The artists kept the name and ran with it, because it said something true: this was art made by people who didn't wait for permission, didn't chase pedigree, and cared more about the work being honest than being polished. That's the same spirit we're building here. Not a movement with a bunch of rules, just a shared instinct - make the thing because it needs to exist, show up for the people making it, and trust that real always outlasts perfect.
Welcome to the world of lowbrow art.
Lowbrow North is a safe and inclusive space for everyone, artists and patrons alike, regardless of artistic ability, race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical appearance or ability, and anything else that makes us who we are.
We will not tolerate bullying, belittling or harassment of any kind. Anyone who behaves this way is not welcome at Lowbrow. Doing so on our socials will get you blocked. Doing so at the show and we'll ask you to leave.
Art is a human activity. Respect and inclusivity is human decency.
No room for hate.
We have no room for hate.
Made by artists.
Kept alive by community.
Art is a human activity.
Listen, AI is everywhere. Right now there's a box to the side of this window asking if I need help generating text. No. I don't. I get it. Really, I do. I work in tech. There are hardly any pieces of software that aren't pushing AI (shoutout to Procreate for keeping AI at bay - at least for now). I get that AI can make things easier. But easy isn't the way of art. Art is hard work. It's experience, experimentation, exhaustion. The reward of art is not the finished product. Not for the artist. It's the process of creation.
Lowbrow North is a champion of the artistic struggle. We're looking for artists, regardless of skill, to put their heart and soul, their effort, their time, into their deck. We have absolutely zero interest in whether or not AI might be able to make it easier to make your deck. That debate has zero impact on what we want at Lowbrow. Human art and creativity has the ability to link us in ways that AI just can't.
If you're thinking about using AI for your deck - don't. We don't want AI generated art at the show. At all. We want to show the work of real humans. AI can't mimic what's in your heart. What's in your soul. Not to mention that AI has been trained on the whole of human creativity - stolen from artists everywhere. We don't want you to give to AI the work that is yours to do.
There may be some who have a different opinion than ours. And you're welcome to it. But the use of AI for Lowbrow North isn't up for debate. And the sad reality is, we'll likely never know if you do decide to use it. That'll be between you and your conscience. You and your artistic integrity. We're trying to be good humans, and hope you are too.
Being "lowbrow" is punk. And AI is inherently anti-punk. You can't be punk and have AI write your love notes or do your art for you.
Don't rob yourself of the creative journey. Do the work. Spend the time. Make the art. It's a human activity.
Artist registration is now open!
We invite local artists to showcase their unique vision on skateboard deck. All of the particulars are available in the artist package - from when and where to pick up a deck, submit it for the show, the guidelines, and everything else.
Here's the lowdown on Lowbrow to get you started:
The fee for artists is $75. You'll get:
- a skateboard deck for your artwork
- an exclusive artist tee
- feature in our Lowbrow North event publication
Artists are free to sell their board at any price they choose (or not sell at all!). Neither Lowbrow North nor Perth County Moto will take a cut of any deck sale. More info in the Artist's packet you'll receive after registration.
Do you support the arts?
We're looking for event sponsors and advertisers. If you're interested, please contact us!
Are you a writer?
We're looking for a few contributors for our event publication. Non-fiction, fiction, or poetry. Contact us if you're interested!