We've had a blast the last few weeks sharing compelling stories from ArtPrize 2021, being live from different venues and speaking with many artists.
Tuesday morning was no different. 13 ON YOUR SIDE's Meredith TerHaar was live to share an entry that's having a big impact, outside the city center.
The Heartside Park Basketball Court Project was created by Edgar Hernandez, who grew up in Grand Rapids. Hernandez transformed the court with vibrant colors, even replacing the hoops and backboards and covering the poles.
Hernandez tells 13 ON YOUR SIDE that after a year of working freelance during the pandemic, doing work for clients, he really wanted to create a large scale installation of his own. It became one of the largest entries in this year's public artwork competition.
Space and place matters a great deal to Hernandez, who passed by the basketball court for years, having worked nearby, and had noticed the rough shape it was in. Before painting the court he did extensive work to repair it. From above it's easy to see that Hernandez was inspired by a Mexican blanket, called a serape, a nod to his heritage.
The Heartside Park Basketball Court Project
Hernandez hopes that this effort is the first of many. He'd like to transform one city court a year. His dream is that it would be a community effort and has launched a fundraising drive to make it happen. You can learn more about it by following @odd_studios on Instagram or by visiting the website.
More about the Heartside Park Basketball Court Project:
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