Simon Skipp Retrospective Adds Art and Skate History to a Huge Bank Holiday Weekend in Derby

Derby’s skate scene is preparing for a huge August Bank Holiday weekend, with art, skate history, new obstacles, cash-for-tricks sessions and one of the city’s most ambitious competitions all taking place between Saturday 29 and Monday 31 August. At the centre of it is Rollersnakes, where Simon Skipp’s Then the Wolves Found Us retrospective will open alongside the return of the brilliantly named C.R.E.A.M. Bank Holiday Jam.

Opening at Rollersnakes’ Derby store on Saturday 29 August, Then the Wolves Found Us brings together 15 pieces of sci-fi-themed woodcut artwork created from repurposed, previously skated decks. Entry to the exhibition is free, giving visitors the opportunity to explore the work of one of British skateboarding’s most well-loved figures before heading outside for an afternoon of skating.

Skipp briefly rode for Heathen Skateboards around 2008, but his reputation and influence continued to grow long afterwards. His work feels like a natural extension of skate culture, combining traditional printmaking with used boards that already carry their own collection of scratches, chips and stories. Rather than disguising that history, the woodcuts allow the life of each skateboard to become part of the finished artwork.

To coincide with the exhibition, 15 hand-printed skateboard decks will be available to purchase on the opening day. Any remaining boards will then be released online the following week, although the extremely limited run means there may not be many left once the opening weekend is over.

Cash Rules Everything Around Me returns

The exhibition will open as Rollersnakes prepares for the return of its C.R.E.A.M. event, short for Cash Rules Everything Around Me. Taking place from midday until 5pm on Saturday 29 August, the Bank Holiday jam will introduce three new skate obstacles created with Enjoi, Rad Skateboarding and Heathen Skateboards.

Skaters will be able to hit the new obstacles while attempting tricks for cash, creating the kind of loose, fast-moving session where money is handed directly to riders who land something worthy. Element Skateboards and OJ Wheels are also supporting the event, adding even more weight to an afternoon that is expected to attract skaters from Derby, the wider Midlands and beyond.

The first C.R.E.A.M. takeover in 2024 turned the Rollersnakes car park, affectionately known as Derby Zoo, into a packed skate session built around custom obstacles and cash rewards. Its return in 2026 promises to be bigger, while keeping the simple formula that made the original work: build something new, bring people together and reward good skateboarding as it happens.

Combining C.R.E.A.M. with Simon Skipp’s retrospective makes Saturday about more than a conventional skate jam. The exhibition celebrates the history, artwork and DIY creativity surrounding skateboarding, while the session outside gives the current scene somewhere to make its own noise. Visitors can move between the gallery and the car park, seeing battered boards transformed into artwork before watching a fresh collection of decks take punishment on the new obstacles.

Derby’s skate weekend continues at Derbion

After Saturday’s exhibition and C.R.E.A.M. jam, the focus shifts into Derby city centre on Monday 31 August for the Escapism Bank Holiday Battle Skate Jam. Taking place at Derbion Shopping Centre from 10am until 6pm, the event will include solo battles, team battles and 90-second performances, alongside stalls, beginner activities, international guests, cash prizes and product giveaways.

One skater will also leave with a year of Escapism shop sponsorship, adding a potentially career-changing prize to the competition. The event is open to all ages and abilities, while placing the action inside one of Derby’s busiest public spaces should introduce skateboarding to an audience that may never normally visit a skatepark or attend a jam.

The Bank Holiday Battle follows the arrival of Flo Skatepark and the energy created around its launch, strengthening the feeling that something significant is beginning to happen within Derby skateboarding. For years, the city has possessed the skaters, shops, artists and independent brands needed to support a thriving scene, but major events have sometimes felt too scattered. Having C.R.E.A.M., Simon Skipp’s exhibition and the Escapism Battle packed into the same weekend makes Derby feel like a genuine skate destination.

It is also encouraging to see different parts of the community contributing in their own way. Rollersnakes brings decades of local skate history, Heathen connects the exhibition with Derby’s independent board culture, Simon Skipp represents skateboarding’s crossover with art, and Escapism is attempting to create a large, public-facing competition capable of drawing attention from across the UK.

The result is a Bank Holiday weekend that connects skateboarding’s past, present and future. There is heritage on the walls, cash on the line in the car park and a major battle waiting in the city centre. Hopefully, it will encourage more collaborations and ensure events of this scale become a regular part of Derby’s cultural calendar.

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