Duxbury exhibit recognizes culture at ground level

Scheduled to open July 15, the exhibition will shine a light on art that adorns the underside of boards - colorful illustrations that usually face the ground, bookended between two sets of urethane wheels, and coated in a film of dust and grime.

The show comes at a time when the area’s skateboarding scene is alive and well, and the popularity of skater culture and street art is booming.

The exhibit is still being assembled. Mary Beth Brown, executive director of the Duxbury Art Association, admits she doesn’t know what to expect. “I’m a little nervous,’’ she said recently.

After all, this isn’t the sort of event the vaunted group typically holds. Founded in 1917 by Charles Bittinger, the nonprofit association bills itself as one of the oldest art organizations in the country and boasts John Singer Sargent and Frank Benson among its early members. Today, the association’s slogan is “For the artist in everyone.’’ Based at the Ellison Center for the Arts, the association offers classes in drawing, oil painting, and jewelry-making, and is known for its children’s workshops, juried art shows, exhibitions, and its annual Midsummer Art Show, now in its 92d year.

What would John Singer Sar gent think of skateboards hanging in the gallery?

“We’re not going to become a skateboarding club,’’ said Brown. “This is just another one of the many ways we work with artists. Part of our mission is that we support the artist in everyone.’’

She said she has “always been intrigued by artwork and culture of skateboarders and surfers and graffiti artists.’’

“It’s a form of creativity. It has value there,’’ she said.

The show is the latest example of skateboard art going mainstream. One need look no further than the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, now hosting a solo exhibit by Shepard Fairey, a skater himself, whose work has been influenced by skateboard culture.

Two of the biggest (and most expensive) names in the art world today - Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst - recently put their original designs on skateboard decks.

Skateboard art has been around for, well, as long as skateboards have been around. The sport has always been an outlet for creativity, and skaters would customize their boards by drawing and writing on them.

Skateboard manufacturers first started putting their logos on decks in the 1960s and 1970s. The logos and graphics got more elaborate, and edgier, as time went on.

By the 1980s, skateboard companies were producing a dizzying array of designs, many of which were named after pro skaters. Some were emblazoned with skulls and bones; others had flames, dragons, crosses, wild animals (such as elephants, panthers, and tigers), and cartoon-like monsters. (One of this reporter’s first skateboards - a Corey O’Brien by Santa Cruz - featured a hooded grim reaper character holding an orange fireball in his skeletal hand.)

Skateboard art shows are a more recent phenomenon. One early show, “SK8ART,’’ held in Long Beach, Calif., in 1989, is believed to have been the first, according to the gallery director in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

The New Bedford Art Museum hosted a large exhibition in 2003 titled “From the Ground Up: Art of the Skateboard Culture.’’

Such shows are “becoming more common,’’ said E.J. Thomas, the 22-year-old founder and owner of Duxbury-based edje skateboards.

When Thomas attends the Duxbury Art Association’s skateboard art exhibit next week, he’ll be on the lookout for creative designs, and scouting for artists who may want to collaborate with his company.

The deadline to submit artwork for the exhibit is July 10. The guidelines specify that the artwork appear on an actual skateboard, or on a skateboard-shaped canvas made of paper, cardboard, cardstock, wood, or similar material. The work must also be original, and, according to the Duxbury Art Association, “appropriate for viewers of all ages.’’ (Skulls and bones are OK; nudity is not.)

Artists can register and drop off their artwork at the Ellison Center for the Arts (64 Saint George St., Duxbury) Monday to Friday, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. There is a $10 fee for each entry.

“Anybody can enter,’’ said Brown. “For people who already do this kind of art, they can enter skateboards they’ve already painted.’’

Will the Duxbury Art Association make this an annual event?

“We’ll see. I never say no to anything,’’ said Brown. “I’m shocked at the viral nature at how this has taken off. There seems to be a ton of interest. We’ve had people asking if we could have a half-pipe in the parking lot.’’

Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com.