Nike Enlists Street Artist KAWS to Paint Murals on New York Basketball Courts

The newly painted basketball courts on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Nike’s newest campaign, New York Made, is an ode to the sleepless city and the rich culture that fuels it. In partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the sports giant is collaborating with local creatives on art pieces in some very unexpected places. To kick off the program, international street artist and Brooklynite Brian Donnelly, known as KAWS, was enlisted to design and paint the Stanton Street Courts on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Thanks to Donnelly, the 116-by-80-foot side-by-side courts now boast cartoonlike imagery in vibrant colors. “My approach to the courts was very similar to how I would work on canvas,” he told Nike. “I wanted to find the sweet spot where it works visually and functionally—how it’s broken up by the game’s lines and works with my images. It will have an intimate effect on the players that use the court.”Born and raised in Jersey City, Donnelly moved to Manhattan in 1996. He lived on the corner of Clinton and Stanton, in the very neighborhood where the murals can be found. “The courts that we painted, I used to pass every day,” he said. “I’ve been conscious of how my work disseminates and touches people. I like the idea of public art because it reaches people in a casual way, and when they aren’t necessarily looking for it.”