The basketball court murals at Phoenix Run were born out of the need to beautify a neighborhood space that had long been neglected. Painting them was one smaller part of a recreational overhaul that was spearheaded by the Wills Group and lead by the Neighborhood Design Center.

The design process began with deep conversations about Phoenix Run’s reputation, which had begun prior to me joining the project, and continued after I started. I was hired to help lead some of these conversations which took place in-person, over Zoom calls, and at the annual neighborhood block party. The feedback that we received was clear: residents wanted a space that was welcoming and made them feel optimistic, hopeful, and joyous. They wanted a space that would flip the script of the neighborhood and highlight the positivity present at Phoenix Run that is often overshadowed by police reports and bad press.

At the back-to-school block party, residents were able to vote on color palettes and provide additional input. The name Phoenix Run was created by the residents in an effort to rebrand the neighborhood formerly known as “the Meadows,” which had a bad reputation for being the neighborhood on the “other side of the tracks” (an operating train quite literally divides the town of La Plata in half).

The final design that you see is a phoenix rising out of a multi-colored pool of paint. Heart shaped paint drips from its wings, as it majestically rises out of the bad reputation of the past and lovingly into a bright, new future. After rising up on the full basketball court, it coasts around the rest of the park, leaving behind brightly colored shapes and games, for the younger residents to interact with.

The bulk of this mural was painted by the community and Wills Group volunteers and lead by myself with the help of Allie O’Neille of the Neighborhood Design Center. It took a consolidated total of four full work days. Aerial shots were taken by Mauricio Mapuche; other shots were taken by the Lambert Cameraworks crew, myself, and various residents and volunteers.