FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – (January 17, 2022) – Grace Arts Center (“GAC”) announces the 2nd Annual Street Art Regatta (“StAR”) to take place on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, at 4:00 p.m.  The event is free and open to the public and sets sail from Lauderdale Yacht Club located at 1725 SE 12th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Registration for StAR is via Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/street-art-regatta-star-tickets-215074442447.

StAR is an interactive installation that transforms the Intracoastal into a floating theater of street and pop art and competitive sailing. The Regatta will be live-streamed https://www.facebook.com/GraceArtsFL.

“Bringing together street art and the marine industries in a visual display of expressive art on the water was the basis for StAR.  Street Art thrives because it has a visceral connection to the ‘street’ with origins in historic hip hop and contemporary pop culture in America. A Regatta is a competitive race with a storied Venetian context involving elite events, extreme athleticism, and the grandeur of traditional boating,” says Clare Vickery, Founder and Director of Grace Arts Center.

The Street Art Regatta is an opportunity for young athletes in the smallest racing class of sailboats, the Optimist series, to use tactics that might otherwise be sanctioned during the sailing competition to maneuver or choreograph painted sails of massive human leaping legs to make the sailboats appear to dance along the water.

“Fort Lauderdale is all about art, culture, and coastal living. What a treasure,” says Mayor Dean Trantalis, who will be on-hand to serve as Starter of the race.

The artists had one directive – paint as if the ocean surface were a floor for human movement. The outcome is a dance on the Intracoastal waterway managed by the professional instructors of the Lauderdale Yacht Club Sailing Foundation.

“Quantum Sails is excited to be among the sponsors of StAR, a unique combination of art, sailing and philanthropy.  This event brings visibility for sailing to new eyes in the diverse art world and promotes growth in youth sailing through scholarship,” says Libby Tomlinson, Merchandise and Event Coordinator.

This year features 16 Street, Pop, and Abstract painter collaborations, some in duos, who will have their original paintings expertly reproduced on sails that will fly from the masts of boats sailed by teams of young people departing from the newly renovated and historic Lauderdale Yacht Club (“LYC”).

“Our in-kind support furthers our mission to provide more access to sailing for residents,” says Phil Thornburg, Director, City of Fort Lauderdale, Parks & Recreation Department.

The interactive art and sailing event cruises the Intracoastal Waterway in the City of Fort Lauderdale. Youth sailing teams actively participate in StAR's art installations waving vividly on the masts. The teams are guided by award-winning coaches based at the LYC Sailing Center, who choreograph the boats and painted sails using competitive regatta racing tactics. The call to action for the artists was to envision a dance on the water through their unique images on each side of sail canvases.

Each boat will be piloted by one youth during the 45-to-60-minute program.  Weight class determines who can participate.  Most are age 10 to 13 and are training for careers in professional sailing.

New this year is an auction of five sails that will take place at the Lauderdale Yacht Club following the             Regatta.  Dr. Harry Moon, a beloved local physician, art collector and member of the LYC will be the Master of Ceremonies and the auctioneer.  Dr. Moon is the Chief Operating Officer of NSU Florida, the NSU Museum of Art (formerly the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art).  The auction and dinner tickets are $75 per person and may be purchased at https://lycsf.org/star-art-auction-dinner.

Proceeds from the auction will provide sailing scholarships for youth without access to boating activities provided by LYCSF.  This year, a new student travel abroad scholarship for seniors accepted to college art programs will be awarded by GAC.

An NFT (Non-Fungible Token) drop of one of the sails will be launched to raise additional funds for sailing and travel abroad scholarships as directed by Grace Arts Center.

Following the Regatta and Auction on February 9, a selection of the sales will be exhibited at the new Southside Cultural Arts Center located at 701 S. Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316.

“I really like the idea of bringing street art to the sails. Showcasing street art and graffiti this way helps broaden the horizon for the artists,” says Glayson Leroy, Founder of Galera Collective and one of the sponsors of StAR.

The 16 artists who hail from near and far, many making their homes in South Florida, include Stefano Alcantara, Jay Bellicchi “Remote,” Buns, El Cekis, Andrew Cotton, Hiero, Hoxxoh, Lady Pink, Orla Ananda, Lori Practico, Ripes, Isanusi Garcia Rodriguez, Tom Rossetti, Suzanne Scherer, Surge and Laura Tan. (Artists’ bios available in our Fact Sheet).

The 2nd Annual StAR is sponsored by the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks & Recreation Department, Galera Collective, Grace Arts Center, Lauderdale Yacht Club Sailing Foundation, New River Fine Art Gallery and Quantum Sails. 

StAR’s free events are made possible through grant funding from the Florida Division of Culture & Arts and the Broward County Cultural Division.

In 2006, Ms. Vickery, Director of the Grace Art Center commissioned Miami-based Florida Hall of Fame Artist, Purvis Young, to paint thirty-foot sails for the Winterfest Boat Parade. The Artist's iconic images appeared to move across the sail canvas fueled by the ocean breeze. In 2020, local, national, and international artists joined a new initiative by Grace Art Center to create walkable galleries in South Florida communities by painting murals across city blocks to revitalize neighborhoods.

De-commissioned racing sails are given a second purpose as canvas for original artworks and used as part of a water performance furthering the found-object-as-fine-art legacy of Mr. Young. He passed away in 2010 but his artwork, generosity of time and spirit lives on in South Florida and beyond through high profile art projects by self-taught artists that beautify neighborhoods.

"Repurposing retired racing sails reflects the legacy of Purvis Young. Free styling sailing and youth culture appeals to Street and Pop artists. StAR creates new relationships with the water and boating in Fort Lauderdale and elevates the nature of how we are integrating fine art into community events,” says Vickery.

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Editor’s Note:  High-Res Photography and video available upon request.

About Grace Arts Center

Founded in 2011 by Clare Vickery, Grace Arts Center (“GAC”) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that presents original material including theater, art exhibits, humanities and science events/scholarships and urban design engagements.  The Grace Arts Center (GAC) mission is to network and connect three distinct areas of general programming resulting in more extensive cultural collaborations and revitalization of South Florida communities through the arts and humanities.  Projects feature exhibits, performances, and urban design by leading Innovators of multiple disciplines to entertain and inform the public and participate in social justice initiatives.  Each program supports annual outreach to lower income communities with less access to cultural experiences and the liberal arts.

About Lauderdale Yacht Sailing Club Foundation

The Lauderdale Yacht Club Sailing Foundation (“LYCSF”) has a long-standing tradition of fostering competitive youth sailing.  Today, the LYCSF’s Sailing Program is one of the largest and most unique in the United States that offers teaching and training.