For millennia in Hawaii, Africa, and elsewhere, Indigenous Peoples rode waves for pleasure. The joy of surfing was shared by whole communities, young and old, male and female. By the early 20th century those traditional activities came to be dominated by people of European descent. By mid-century, that joy was spread to millions around the globe through modern technologies. Boards of foam and fiberglass, surf music, travel, clothing design, and commercialization have all marked this global phenomenon. With that spread came the Western tendency to place individual realization above the cooperative. Empowered by new technologies, surfers by the millions sought out the “stoke”—the personal thrill of riding a wave. As world champion Nat Young stated, “We’re selfish. Surfing’s always been totally self-indulgent.”

Over the last century, this may have been the case, but not over time. Now, some inspired surfers are
turning once again to the values of community over self. Drawing on 21st-century technologies and their own energies (stoke), numerous wave riders have founded organizations that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion and attend to people’s physical, mental, and emotional needs and to the health of our watery planet.

While much of the exhibition will be based on loans from leading surf museums and private collections,
concurrently the Museum will be opening a 35,000-square-foot watercraft exhibition center to bring most of our collection of over 500 vessels to public view. STOKED will provide the opportunity to expand that core narrative with surfboards related to some of these vessels in design, materials, and fabrication. We are actively seeking to add surfboards and associated material to the permanent collections as part of this project as we look towards broadening our institutional perspective on what “maritime” means to different communities.

STOKED will introduce technological and cultural innovators who have transformed how we take pleasure on the edges of the world’s ocean. In doing so, they have influenced our relationship with the ocean and each other. Through this exhibit, viewers will come to understand the allure, language, and mysteries of this intriguing sport.