Inspiring equitable play, one neighborhood at a time

By Arelious Cooper, executive director, Art in the Paint

At Art in the Paint, our mission is to use art and athletics to promote a higher quality of life, mobilize communities and inspire equitable play. Since 2020, we have renovated more than 40 courts in nine cities and four countries. Our programs have impacted over 12,000 people, with $8.4 million worth of services and resources brought to communities worldwide. As the honorable Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has stated, “Atlanta is a group project”. In 2022, we partnered with the Thomasville Heights community, the Atlanta Public Defender’s office, the Office of Cultural Affairs, Parks and Recreation, Park Pride, and SCAD ‘POP’ to renovate two outdoor basketball courts and a futsal (hardcourt soccer) court with a beautiful, fun, refreshing mural the community can be proud of.*

As an organization dedicated to place-based impact, much of our contact with the community happens in-person in the neighborhoods we are impacting. While developing our courts, we regularly attend neighborhood association meetings, NPU meetings, and any other appropriate in-person community gatherings. With that input from the community, SCAD alumni Alexandria Hall designed a beautiful mural.

As wonderful and physically transformative as all of this is, it’s only the beginning. Art is the catalyst, not the end game. We’ve been reaching out to potential program partners to bring resources centered around STEAM, mental health, economic empowerment, gun violence prevention and of course, free basketball to the community.

So, why does free basketball matter? According to The New York Times, “data from multiple sources reveal a significant gap in sports participation by income level. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that 70% of children from families with incomes above about $105,000 — four times the poverty line — participated in sports in 2020. But participation was around 51% for families in a middle-income range, and just 31% for families at or below the poverty line.” Play equity is more than fun and games; it’s a social issue. Atlanta leads the nation in income inequality. In the area surrounding Thomasville Heights (zip code 30314), the average household income is just $25,920 per family. The average household income in the Buckhead and more affluent areas of Atlanta is around $148,480 per family. Children born into poverty in Atlanta have only about a 4% chance of breaking out of poverty, and courts in community parks may be one of the last “level playing fields” that they play on.

Although basketball courts are the foundation of our model, Art in the Paint serves as a community multiplier and excels in bringing community members and other nonprofit partners together to facilitate change. Art in the Paint takes that statement to heart and works to involve as many connections as possible to the community to ensure rebuilding is effective and personal.

If you’re interested in following or joining our journey, please reach out to us via email at artinthepaint@gmail.com on Instagram @artinthepaintorg, or check out our website www.planpaintplay.com.

*Thomasville Heights is one of three communities in metro Atlanta where the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta is focusing its place-based work. Art in the Paint’s work in Thomasville Heights illustrates the transformative impacts that can happen when the arts intersect with community (place).