Celebrating the women of skateboarding, in photos
- Text by Hannah Bailey
- Photography by Hannah Bailey

Copenhagen is a skate friendly city at the best of times, but for five days every July the Copenhagen Open rolls through. Hosting the world’s best pros and a heap of core skateboarders who make the trek, it’s an open, fluid and organic street skate event. This year, down a quiet street, the Vess Gallery played host to Yeah Girl – an exhibition showcasing photos of women skateboarders shot by women photographers from around the world. Curated by Australian photographer Sarah Huston, the show made its way to Copenhagen after a successful launch in 2016 on the Gold Coast. And, with women’s skating in the spotlight more than ever, there was no better time to show it in its best and genuine form.
The show, supported by Girls Are Awesome and Monster Energy, featured work from 8 photographers; including Virginia Fernandes, Zorah Olivia, Sonia Ziegler, Jenna Selby, Linnea Bullion, Nayat Cheikh, Jocelyn Tam and Alana Paterson. We went to chat to curator Sarah Huston and exhibiting photographer Sonia Ziegler to find out more.

Photography Alana Paterson

Photography Jenna Selby
Sarah Huston, curator
When was the exact moment that Yeah Girl became a thing?
I had never curated before.I was shooting a lot of skate photography, guys and girls – and I realised I had a lot of shots, but all I was doing with them was putting them on Instagram. I thought it be cool to do something more, an exhibition or a zine, but I thought who am I? Who cares? But then I became more aware of other female skate photographers, that I hadn’t realised existed until that point. Instead of exhibiting my work, I thought it would be cool to exhibit a bunch of people’s work.
How did you curate the shots? What were you looking for?
Basically, I want the work of each photographer to speak for each photographer. I want it to be what represents them. But I was also looking for an overall perspective on skateboarding, so the goal was to get the photos from as many countries as possible. I wanted a global perspective.
What is your personal motivation with the show?
The main thing is increasing representation for female photographers and skateboarders. But particularly it started for the photographers. There are so many chicks shooting that you never see in a magazine. I shoot a lot of photos. I am an advocate for more exposure for women’s skaters, so I wanted to help that.

Photography Jocelyn Tam

Photography Linnea Bullion
Sonia Ziegler, photographer
How did you first get into photography?
It was only two or three years ago properly, but when I was younger I played around with my father’s cameras – nothing serious, just shooting my friends. But I studied at Bryggeriets, the skateboard high school in Malmo, and there I was so fortunate to have amazing photography tools and different programs to be part of. I switched to photography there.
What do you hope to achieve with your skate photography? What motivates you?
I work a lot with shapes, forms, lines, shadows and compositions, so I think I create more art photos with skateboarding in it. Traditional skateboard photography is usually about the trick, whereas that’s not my style too much. I do have a bunch of photos that are more traditional skate, but I love to work with forms. The style of my skate photos is that I am around and I see something, I see a building, I see a sculpture, I see a cone, I see a shadow and then I just have these visions. I see it forming, it doesn’t matter who or what it is.
What’s good about ‘Yeah Girl’ and being part of it?
Something like this is what is needed for people to pay more attention to women’s skateboarding. There is so much happening, even though men still dominate, there is still so much going on. But because of the lack of media coverage, there are still a lot of people not seeing it and not aware of it. Something like this is a beautiful step of putting a focus on it. It makes me so grateful to be a part of it and to contribute.

Photography Virginia Fernandes

Photography Nayat Cheikh

Photography Zorah Olivia

Photography Sonia Ziegler
Yeah Girl opened at the Vess Gallery in Copenhagen on 14 July.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck

Meet the trans-led hairdressers providing London with gender-affirming trims
Open Out — Since being founded in 2011, the Hoxton salon has become a crucial space the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Bentley caught up with co-founder Greygory Vass to hear about its growth, breaking down barbering binaries, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.
Written by: Hannah Bentley

Gazan amputees secure Para-Cycling World Championships qualification
Gaza Sunbirds — Alaa al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour earned Palestine’s first-ever top-20 finish at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Belgium over the weekend.
Written by: Isaac Muk

New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture
Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.
Written by: Isaac Muk

Rahim Fortune’s dreamlike vision of the Black American South
Reflections — In the Texas native’s debut solo show, he weaves familial history and documentary photography to challenge the region’s visual tropes.
Written by: Miss Rosen

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind
Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.
Written by: Emma Garland

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”
Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.
Written by: Katie Goh