Nike Taps KAWS to Repaint Stanton Street Basketball Courts
This image has been archived or removed.
Photo: Nike
Nike is embedded pretty deep on Stanton Street in Sara D. Roosevelt Park. Its cash infusions over the years have helped both the soccer field (despite past turf problems) and basketball courts become some of the most heavily used in the area. And as of yesterday evening, the latter is latest to get a makeover.
The Swoosh tapped world-renowned street artist KAWS (aka Brian Donnelly) to redesign the court pavement, as part of a project called “New York Made: Stanton Street Courts.” The mural envelops the side-by-side basketball courts (approximately 116 by 80 feet), as well as the four hoops, and looks like Elmo. In its public statement, Nike noted that, “the court embodies [our] drive to elevate sport, culture and community through innovative collaborations.”
This image has been archived or removed.
“My approach to the courts was very similar to how I would work on canvas. I wanted to create something that was true to my language, but also considerate of this being a court that people are playing on,” the Brooklyn-based KAWS explains. “I wanted to find the sweet spot where it works visually and functionally — how its broken up by the game’s lines and works with my images. It will have an intimate effect on the players that use the court.”
Nike is also in the hyperlocal news this week due to its controversial five-floor store opening tomorrow at 529 Broadway.
Recent Stories
This Mott Street ATM Gouges with 17% Fee
Storefront ATMs are nothing new. In fact, their ubiquity was so pronounced that the city banned freestanding ones from sidewalks about a decade ago. Visitors to Chinatown or the Lower East Side unfamiliar with bank ATM locations when in need of cash might not realize the exorbitant fees some ATM operators are charging. For instance, […]
Bongos Taps into Orchard Street with ‘Gala Dinners’
The principals behind five-year-old Kind Regards on Ludlow Street – Michael Bray and Noble Harris – are together joining the party south of the Delancey Divide with a new hangout called Bongos. Bongos opened at 85 Orchard Street earlier this month – on the museum block – reactivating the storefront left vacant by An Choi two […]
Blockchain Company Anchors Sunshine Cinema Replacement Tower
The glassy office building that replaced the beloved Sunshine Cinema has its first tenant. And an anchor, at that. The arrival of San Francisco-based Solana Labs comes mere weeks after the sidewalk bridge outside 141 East Houston came down (thereby freeing Yonah Schimmel from bondage). Solana Labs, a blockchain company, reportedly signed a lease for […]
Man Shot and Killed on Q Train at Canal Street in Unprovoked Attack
A straphanger was shot and killed Sunday morning on a Q train just off the Manhattan Bridge in what investigators are calling an unprovoked attack. The 48-year-old victim, whose name is not released, was shot in the chest around 11:40am yesterday while riding a northbound Q train that was pulling into the Canal Street station, […]
Demolition Begins at Fire-Stricken Dim Sum Palace Building in Chinatown
Demolition started this week at 6 Chatham Square, which, until this month, housed neighborhood favorite Dim Sum Palace. Early morning May 1, a fire in the kitchen spread throughout the building, triggering a five-alarm response from the fire department. All told, five firefighters were injured battling the inferno over several hours. And according to Red […]
