Leaving A Mark

Basketball is often the subject of artists – everything from iconic photos, paintings, murals, and even sculptures.

But what happens when you take the sport itself and use it as the method to actually create art? And can that process make an impact on a community?

The answer to both is a resounding ‘yes’ involving a lot of paint, using basketballs as your ‘brush, and having some very messy fun. The resulting artwork, and even the very process of making the artwork, will ultimately help make a positive impact on one Baltimore neighborhood.

That was the inspiration behind University of Maryland assistant art professor Brandon Donahue-Shipp’s project at the Robert C. Marshall Community Center in Baltimore supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council. There to help were rising sophomores Noah Batchelor and Caelum Swanton-Rodger from the Maryland men’s basketball team. 

“I live really close to this neighborhood which inspired me to begin building a relationship with Antonio Jones, the director of the Marshall Community Center, seven months ago. I asked him – what do you need, what can I provide as an artist to help your community center,” said Donahue-Shipp. “We talked about the basketball gym and how the much attention it needs. It could use some color and something to inspire the kids and remind them what this center means to them.”

Donahue-Shipp, who is a visual artist working in painting, assemblage, and sculpture, also reached out to the basketball program as a way to further the personal connection of the project. Batchelor and Calum-Swanton were both eager and excited to take part in giving back to the community.

At Maryland, Arts For All is a campus-wide initiative, part of a broader Five Bold Actions announced by President Darryl J. Pines, which seeks to ensure that the arts are woven into the very fabric of life and looks to foster creativity and engagement on campus and in the broader community. The initiative looks to leverage the combined power of the arts, technology, and social justice to address the grand challenges of our time.

“This was a way to extend Arts For All beyond the University campus,” said Donahue-Shipp. “We are using creativity and fundamental basketball skills to impact the youth of this community center and its families.”

And for nearly two hours during the morning of Saturday, May 6, with DJ Marzo pumping tunes, the sound of laughter, and basketballs bouncing on the gym court, Donahue-Shipp’s inspiration was brought to life.

Nearly 30 children from the surrounding neighborhoods donned gloves, spread paint over the surface of basketballs, and created 14 pieces of artwork that will adorn the gym walls once Donahue-Shipp puts the finishing touches on the project.

“I thought this was a really unique way to help in the community,” said Swanton-Rodger. “It’s great to see young kids grow to love the sport of basketball. To combine that with the fun of art was really cool. I had never even thought of doing something like this, but it really goes to show that art and basketball can bring us all together.”

The children took to the project immediately with Donahue-Shipp, Batchelor and Swanton-Rodger helping them cover the basketballs in a rainbow menagerie of paint. 

“That was inspiring to see them all interact together,” said Donahue-Shipp. “The kids got to express themselves in an unfamiliar but familiar art process and get valuable basketball time alongside Noah and Cal. They get to reach these guys, talk to them, and ask them questions which they could not do on TV. And they (Caelum and Noah) brought so much joy with them which translated to the kids as they made the pieces.”

With the paper jersey cutouts on the court, they ran to each to bounce and roll the ball over them leaving their mark. Some even put the paint right on their gloves to leave handprints on the jerseys – their own personal stamps making the pieces their own.

“It was super cool to interact with the kids and watch them have fun with the painted basketballs and the jerseys that they made,” said Batchelor. “Seeing them have this experience and knowing that this will make a difference with this community center was very special.”

Eight-year-old JaRon was there for the whole two hours going from jersey to jersey. “It was fun – the players were very nice and I thought Noah was cool.”

The next part of the project will see Donahue-Shipp add words of meaning to each jersey before they are hung on the walls of the gymnasium. The children also left Post-It notes in a custom airbrushed mailbox that Donahue-Shipp provided to the center and he’ll use those to guide the word choice for each jersey, such as ‘Dedication’, ‘Discipline’, ‘Community’, etc.

“Community art projects are a way to keep art more inclusive through collaboration. This project also shows that art can be made from everyday objects,” said Donahue-Shipp.

For two hours, there was messy fun, creativity, and smiles. At the end, there were 13 basketballs sitting on a rack - coated in merging hues of blue, yellow, pink, red and every other color combination you can think of. There were 14 jerseys adorned with the imprints of basketballs and small hands (except for the large ones belonging to Noah and Cal). The kids grabbed snacks, high-fived and fist-bumped Noah, Cal and Brandon and then went off to their next adventures of the day – some with paint smudges still on their hands, cheeks, and legs. 

But once Donahue-Shipp brings the pieces back to install in the center, a little bit of each person who took part in merging art and basketball on that spring Saturday morning will serve to inspire everyone in that community for years to come.