Skateistan and The Impossible Project release limited edition… | Huck

Sign up to our newsletter and become a Club Huck member.

Stay informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture

Skateistan and The Impossible Project release limited edition Polaroid film

Fund-raising with a twist — The two have collaborated on a project to merge photography, philanthropy and skating for vulnerable children across the world.

Skateistan and The Impossible Project have dropped their new joint project this week releasing a limited edition film for Polaroid 600-type cameras.

The film gives the photographer a geometric, Afghan textile-inspired design at the bottom of each polaroid. A percentage of each pack sold goes directly to helping Skateistan’s philanthropic projects in Afghanistan, Cambodia and their latest venture in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Skateistan are an NGO who, through working with vulnerable five to 18-year-olds across the world, are committed to creating opportunities and change through education and skating. Every week, they work with more than 1,200 children from disadvantaged backgrounds get an education that would be impossible otherwise.

The Impossible Project CEO Oskar Smolokowski, 26, said: “It’s always great to see that kind of stuff, and to see the results and the kids making some difference, however small, it’s making.”

Currently, Impossible are the only company in the world making “instant film for classic Polaroid cameras” after purchasing the last Polaroid producing company in 2008.

Their hook up with Skateistan started last year when, as Smolokowski said: “We love what they’re doing and we reached out. We figured out our first project to work together on, and that was last year. We basically donated a bunch of film and cameras and sent them over to one of those locations in Afghanistan. They did a media-based project with the kids which was a journalism project.”

He went on to praise the work done by Oliver Percovich and the team over at Skateistan saying: “If you’re out there and all you see is bad stuff around you don’t really have a reason to turn out to be a good person. Even though they aren’t directly teaching people math, they’re actually getting the kids to believe that there’s some good and some fun. The more opportunities that come to them, and there aren’t many, the better it is.”

Percovich, 40, has been heading up the Skateistan for nearly eight years now and said that he’s excited to be reaching a larger audience than ever with this new project. He said: “I think it’s a really great way to reach a new audience with Impossible and use polaroid cameras which are a huge market globally. People that probably hadn’t seen us before will be exposed to Skateistan, so that’s really cool.”

The limited edition film is out now and you buy it here or donate straight or Skateistan.


You might like

Activism

Signs of solidarity as London marks three years of genocide in Palestine

Never forget — 250,000 people gathered on Saturday as Israeli attacks have continued in Gaza and the West Bank. Daisy Schofield photographed the diverse people and placards in attendance.

Written by: Daisy Schofield

Culture

Landmark new exhibition is celebrating 50 years of female punk

God Save the Queens – The Museum of Youth Culture is bringing together rare photography, archive material and a one-night-only supergroup featuring members of X-Ray Spex, The Slits and The Raincoats.

Written by: Ella Glossop

Culture

Halcyon, end of summer days in ’80s Massachusetts

Bell Pond — Stephen DiRado’s new photobook is a nostalgic look at blissed out moments of young love, family and coming of age at a swimming pond in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Bronx, New York City, NY. July 20th 1972. 
Members of the New York street gang Savage Skulls. The trademark of the, primarily Puerto Rican, gang was a sleeveless denim jacket with a skull and crossbones design on the back. Based around Fox Street, in the popular South Bronx neighborhood, the gang declared war on the drug dealers that operated in the area. Running battles were frequent with rival gangs Seven Immortals, and Savage Nomads.
Activism

Photographing America’s 20th century rebels

Rebels With a Cause — A new monograph looks back at Jean-Pierre Laffont’s extensive archive documenting counterculture, art, activism and more, shaping the country as it is today.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Culture

The groundbreaking photography of Gordon Parks

Voices in the Mirror — A new exhibition dives deep into the legendary lensman’s archive, who captured the Civil Rights Movement and Black America like no other.

Written by: Miss Rosen

© Melonie Bennett
Culture

A chaotic portrait of an ’80s American farming family

Holy Cow! — Melonie Bennett grew up on a farm in Maine in the ’80s, and documented her family’s idiosyncratic daily life. She presents those humorous, everyday memories in a new exhibition and photobook.

Written by: Miss Rosen

You've read articles this month Thanks for reading

Join Club Huck — it's free!

Valued Huck reader, thank you for engaging with our journalism and taking an interest in our dispatches from the sharp edge of culture, sport, music and rebellion.

We want to offer you the chance to join Club Huck [it's free!] where you will receive exclusive newsletters, including personal takes on the state of pop culture and media from columnist Emma Garland, culture recommendations, interviews and dispatches straight to your inbox.

You'll also get priority access to Huck events, merch discounts, and more fun surprises.

Already part of the club? Enter your email above and we'll get you logged in.