Finding California Surf – Art Exhibit

 

Surf's Up at Huntington Beach Int'l Surfing Museum!

 

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel 

From San Francisco to San Diego California's iconic surf spots have been celebrated in surf lore, movies, and song, luring a century of surfers to try the storied waves for themselves.

The Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum decided to give these special spots the exhibit they deserve in Finding California Surf.

 

Co-curated by artists Ricky Blake (who created a First Surf Spots Map) and Dave Reynolds, the exhibit includes the works of some of the world's top surfing artists. 

It takes you on a time-traveling journey from the early days of surfing when many spots had yet to be discovered to today. 

When SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel stopped by the museum before the exhibit's opening everything was being put in place.

ISM manager Terry O'Shea was eager to show us around and tell us about the plans to expand the museum's programs, saying, "I am so stoked about the new direction the museum is going in." 

The museum's executive director PT Townend, who was instrumental in conceiving the exhibit, calls the original surfers from California's early days "explorers."

 

Noting that, although the vast, empty spots they discovered – such as Malibu, HB, and Doheny – may be crowded now, there are still other surfing spots waiting to be found. 

 

As the Bruce Brown classic 60s film The Endless Summer showed, there are no lengths that people won't go to find the perfect wave.

 

Finding California Surf reminds us of the diverse array of surfing spots the Golden State has and how the sport evolved from the early 1900s when legendary surfers like Duke Kahanamoku braved the waves on wooden longboards. 

 

The exhibit is filled with discoveries and surprises. SurfWriter Girls were surprised to run into champion surfer Mike Downey (a 2021 inductee into the Surfing Walk of Fame), who came straight from the beach and stopped by the museum on his way home.

 

The ISM is that kind of museum – a welcoming place that brings people together to share the stoke.     

 SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.