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There has been an ongoing debate between art enthusiasts, critics, scholars, and even artists themselves, about art’s “place” for centuries. Heading up the complicated argument is the question of where art should be displayed and through what medium should it be expressed. However, for the last twenty years, the Punk and Hip-hop culture has responded to this question loud and clear with this simple answer: Art should be expressed everywhere and in every way. Nothing is off limits.

As a result, we have seen artists use subway trains as their galleries, urban walls as their canvas, and trendy clothing as their frames. And the culture, which spans the globe, has appreciated them all the more for it. But just when all artistic avenues seem exhausted, an outing at a nightclub can change your whole perspective.

On a Sunday evening at The Rebel NYC, a hip club in Midtown Manhattan, there are long objects that hug the walls. But these are not shy bodies that have decided to place their backs against the plaster for support in fear that dancing may expose their deficiency in “cool”. Instead, these figures are skateboard decks, twenty-six of them to be exact, all tattooed with art ranging in style from graffiti, abstract expressionism, to portraiture. And while music is raging in the background, people seem to be quite focused as they look at the artistic unwheeled boards; seemingly deciphering their message, and admiring each artist’s style and approach.

This is no ordinary Sunday evening in a nightclub. It’s the The Hit The Deck show, a skateboard art show that features the work of graffiti artists, clothing designers, and renowned artists. This is its first night in New York City. The next show will be in Boston, followed by one show per month all over the world.

Conceptually created by Bill Fishkin of Synthesis.net, the first two exhibitions were held in California and proceeds were donated to the Global Fund; an AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis treatment charity. The event was soon handed to Future Classic, a marketing firm in Boston that specializes in promoting artistic events. Their charge: to market and promote Hit The Deck around the globe and at the same time provide a stage for artists to once again display art through what some consider “nontraditional” mediums.

The artists whose works lie on Rebel’s walls tonight are Bishop, Haze XXL, Cope 2, To Die For, Josh Taylor, Alone 1, and more. Although other visionaries and galleries have curated other skateboard art shows (32 Inch Canvas, The Untitled Show, and The Refill Seven Exhibit ), no other exhibit showcases the work of art directors and artists within graffiti, visual art, and apparel design together like Hit The Deck.

Their combined work is reminiscent of what you would see in the portfolios of art icons, Basquiat, Murakami, and Fairey. It may also remind you of what you might haphazardly witness late night on Adult Swim, a rock album cover, a tattooed arm, or on the side of a Bronx building.

But there is also diversity among the exhibit. SoCity’s, Untitled , is a painted deck decorated with pink, yellow, and brown shoe laces. Lisa Gilman’s deck, which took six days to create, is painted in purple and black with a sprinkle of glitter and rhinestones. Attached to it is a Barbie doll - an actual Barbie doll - on a skateboard.

Brian Life, a Brooklyn artist and apparel designer whose work is displayed on two canvas on an adjacent wall in the club, gives the artists credit on how they handled their limited, narrow, work space. “Seeing it actually made me eager to do it”, he notes.

As art admirers converse over drinks and examine each piece, a group of young Black skateboarders enter the club fully equipped with fat tongue sneakers and boards on their backs. Basim Miller, a teenage skateboarder from Jamaica, Queens, boldly admits that he would put wheels on any of the decks displayed, and skate on them despite their price, showing a moxy only a teenager could have.

However, hIs friend and skateboard comrade, Qade, acknowledges that his favorite artist, Mike Shinoda’s work is displayed on one of the decks. When asked if he would skate on the artistic boards, or display them as art, he chooses the latter. “If it was a common board, I’ll skate on it…but if its special, I’ll hang it on my wall”. He pulls out his skateboard from his backpack and displays an authentic industrial painted deck. He explains it like a true art collector, ” its a chemical waste plant. There are two. One is very industrial and the other is a forest. They really contradict each other.”

His knowledge and enthusiasm, evident in his viewing, shows that perhaps skateboarders are the new art collectors, with some dedicated to hanging them on walls while others are more interested in making the art mobile.

As you are out and about, you may be privileged enough to catch a glimpse of the artwork of some of the most talented artists of this generation, gliding parallel with the city’s streets or high up in the air at a suburban skate park.

Though this particular exhibit was impressive and an obvious out-of-box experience, I have a feeling that these artists will continue to push the limits of what exactly is appropriate housing for expression. So don’t be surprised if you see a luxury car, a section of the White House, or even a cumulus cloud (painted in an un-cloudy color) at a gallery or nightclub near you very soon.