Poway High grad brings art to the community with ‘Rolling It Forward’

A Poway High graduate is giving back to the community with his new art installation, “Rolling It Forward.”

Jeremy Nuttall, a former Poway resident who graduated from PHS in 2003, had his new exhibit installed on July 28 on the roof of Building 202 above the San Diego Watercolor Society at Liberty Station.

The art installation features about 280 skateboard decks collected from local skate shops and friends, most used, and painted by members of the community, he said. It represents a boat and rolling waves, made entirely from the skateboards.

The title of his project, as well as the concept behind it, stems from “pay it forward,” Nuttall said. “It’s not just connecting families and youth with art, it’s so they have a hand in a public art project and see their contributions,” he said.

Nuttall held several public painting events around San Diego, where aspiring artists could paint a skateboard for the project. The first event drew about 40 participants, he said, and the others about 25 each. Students from Cathedral Catholic High School also painted some of the skateboards.

The piece was one of six selected by the NTC Foundation, which oversees the development and operation of 26 buildings at Arts District Liberty Station. The six pieces will be temporary art projects as part of a new rotating program called “Installations at the Station,” according to a press release.

Nuttall said he found out about being selected for the program about six months ago and immediately being reaching out for skateboards. He held painting events for the last three months, including every weekend for the past two months, he said. Community engagement was a required aspect to having a piece selected for the program, Nuttall said.

Twenty-eight proposals were submitted to the NTC Foundation’s Art in Public Place Committee, which were reviewed on criteria related to innovation, community engagement, whether the project showcased the history of San Diego, enhanced the dignity of the site and added to the creative hub of the Arts District, according to a press release. The committee also looked at authenticity, creativity, budget and experience of the artist.

The installation will stay up for about eight months, and after that the foundation can consider if it wishes to keep the piece up or return it to Nuttall. Once the installation is removed, Nuttall said he plans to auction off the skateboards to raise funds for the “Rolling It Forward” non-profit he plans to start, in order to continue offering painting opportunities to the public. He said he also plans to donate the wood used to mount the installation.

Nuttall said he took “pretty much only art classes” while at Poway High, including drawing and animation, and studied applied design at SDSU before getting a master’s in fine arts at the University of Wisconsin. He started doing public art projects to help himself reconnect with the San Diego art scene, he said.

Nuttall’s art installation can be viewed at 2825 Dewey Road, Bldg. 202 at Liberty Station. More of Nuttall’s art can be seen at jeremy-nuttall.squarespace.com.

Email: entertainment@pomeradonews.com