This Sunday, artists, curators, and organizers skipped the final moments of Armory weekend to shoot hoops at Sara D. Roosevelt Park on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. NYC Culture Club creators Clayton and Parker Calvert organized Ball For Art, a charity basketball tournament. Fashion house Golden Goose provided jerseys designed by New York-based artist Stickymonger, while neighborhood bar Ray’s hosted the after-party and even supplied a few players. All proceeds from Ball For Art, including donations, raffle tickets for a jersey, and poster sales, benefited five local nonprofits: ARTNOIR, Artolution, ArtsConnection, NYC Culture Club, and Silver Art Projects.

Nearly a hundred participants, volunteers, and spectators gathered at the Grand Street Courts around noon to warm up for the four-hour competition, where 16 teams of four competed for bragging rights. In the early rounds, teams played simultaneously across the park’s four courts, surrounded by a bold new mural painted by multimedia artist Zeehan Wazed to commemorate the occasion. Clouds of smoke blending marijuana and tobacco floated over the scene as the players practiced.

Parker Calvert, who has played basketball most of his life, said over email that the annual East Hampton Artists and Writers Charity Softball Game—inaugurated years ago by Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Joan Mitchell—helped him get acclimated to the art world early in his career. “During the pandemic, many artists bonded over basketball games hosted with [ARTNOIR co-founder] Danny Baez in Morningside Park,” Calvert said, explaining the inspiration behind Ball For Art.

The tournament is set to become an annual tradition. Some players, like street art duo riisaBoogie and Rez Ones, joined for fun, while others came to dominate. The knockout format, where one loss meant elimination, quickly separated the wheat from the chaff.

“It surprised me seeing who actually knows how to play very well, and who doesn’t,” said one excited attendee, whose MVP picks included Parker Calvert, artist Nate Lewis, and actor Barthelemy Astin—who triumphed over painter Telvin Wallace as they attempted to lead their teams to victory. Alas, Astin faced elimination soon after, against the Calvert brothers and their friend of 10 years, artist and model Cavier Coleman.

The Calvert squad faltered in the semifinals, leaving the championship to the team of Lewis and Baez, alongside artist Omar Lawson and art advisor Anwarii Musa—a chimera of two squads that came together due to injuries in earlier rounds. Their opponents were Ray’s bartenders Ben Guber and Hailey Carter, artist Jeff City, and photographer AP the Angel.

City Councilperson Christopher Marte gave remarks before the championship. The Calverts announced that artist Jason Wallace won NYC Culture Club’s first-ever Stillman Prize.

Back on the court, AP the Angel and Musa led their teams through the final game, rife with trash-talking and contentious fouls. Every player contributed—except for Carter, one of three women in the tournament, who barely played. Lawson barreled through throngs to make layups, and Guber sunk some three-pointers.

Lewis, who had two works in the Armory with Los Angeles gallery Vielmetter, scored the winning shot. Although he’s played basketball his whole life, Lewis only started making art at 25. “We ain’t new to this, we true to this,” Lewis said on the court, noting that his artwork relates to the way he plays.

Despite AP verbally sparring with Musa throughout the game—and Musa taking a celebratory lap yelling “Let’s fucking go”—both teams hugged it out after all was said and done, suggesting that in both art and sports, competition can create community.
 

Sayart / Kelly.K pittou8181@gmail.com