Art Auction Brings Artists & Surfboard Shapers Together for NYC Nonprofit

Author

Leah Balagopal

Photographer

Courtesy Laru Beya

10 one-of-a-kind surfboards to be available on Artsy, with proceeds supporting Laru Beya's year-round youth programming in Far Rockaway, Queens

Published: 09-30-2026

To most people, the idea of surfing in New York City seems unreal. But anyone who has made the A Train pilgrimage out to the Rockaways knows the Queens coastline is home to both year-round swell and a strong surf culture and community. The Far Rockaway-founded nonprofit Laru Beya Collective has been one of the steadiest parts of that community since 2018, providing historically excluded young people access to the ocean through surf and swim lessons. To support such programming, a group of local artists and surfboard shapers are raising funds for Laru Beya through an upcoming auction selling one-of-a-kind designs.

Run online from 1-6 October 2026 through Artsy,Shared Waters: Artists & Shapers for Laru Beya sees 10 boards up for bidding, each starting its life as a hand-shaped blank before being passed to an artist to paint. Each board is then finished and made surf-ready by the brothers at Kings Glassing. The result is 10 unique boards made through real collaboration.

Among th lot, standouts include Mickalene Thomas’ Petals and Waves, which brings her bold use of color and pattern to a single-fin glider shaped by New York’s Drew Austin.

For fuga íntima, Felipe Baeza covers a swallow-tail twin fin shaped by New Jersey's Trevor Kennedy in organic, flowing lines, with a figure emerging from the abstraction. The collaborations give as much reason to look closely at the boards’ shapes as the artwork on their surfaces.

fuga intima by Felipe Baeza

Petals and Waves by Mickalene Thomas

With artists and shapers from the Tri-State area contributing their work, the project draws on the community it gives back to. "The boards really become a reflection of the greater New York surf community," says Aaron Austin of Kings Glassing.

Laru Beya means "on the beach" in the language of the Garifuna, an Afro-Indigenous people whose communities live across Central America and the Caribbean. The volunteer-run nonprofit's mission starts with teaching kids to surf, but the long game is mentorship and helping New York City's youth build the confidence and experience to become leaders themselves.

On a peninsula where plenty of kids grow up within walking distance of the ocean, learning to be safe and confident in the water matters. More than 150 young people take part in Laru Beya programs each year, which combine surf lessons and water-safety education with activities well beyond the shoreline, including art workshops, media classes, environmental stewardship, and community events.

Online bidding ends Tuesday, 6 October.

For local surfers, the full collection will be on view this Thursday, 1 October from 6–9 pm, at Cafe Studio NYC (195 Chrystie Street in Manhattan).

You don’t have to bid on a board to contribute. Laru Beya accepts direct donations here and through its website, along with gently used wetsuits and boards. Volunteers are also welcome, whether they’re helping with surf lessons, beach cleanups, photography, or work beyond the water.