Des Moines’ Evelyn K. Davis Park received a vibrant paint job on its basketball courts, encompassing design features from those who use it most: the Des Moines community.
A dedication ceremony was held Saturday morning with community members, Des Moines leaders and basketball players ready for the annual LongShots tournament.
“This is the most used basketball court in all our 70-plus parks… but it was cracked. We needed a new one,” Des Moines Parks and Recreation Director Ben Page told the Des Moines Register. “So, we came together with the community. We had a big vision and we all dreamed big.”
Evelyn K. Davis Park, 1400 Forest Ave. in Des Moines, is now home to Iowa’s largest basketball mural, “Growth Culture.” The mural, designed by local artist Jill Wells, features culturally significant patterns and bright colors and spans three basketball courts, with Evelyn K. Davis’s initials front and center on each court.
“The idea is to bring together as many cultures and conversations around the diversity of our community,” Wells said in a video played at the ceremony.
Well’s design incorporated ideas from a questionnaire sent out by the city earlier this year. She also visited King Elementary and had students get their creative juices flowing by letting them have their hand at designing the murals.
“It was so fun being able to see all the different patterns, the shapes, the colors, the conversations that came out of that charrette,” Wells said. “And then pulling those into some of the research and extrapolating very similar patterns and shapes, and being able to honor both the history and the culture of what comes from the past in our diverse community.”
The designs include banana leaves, which symbolize celebration and growth; a chevron pattern, which is common in indigenous art; swirls that symbolize water in Asian cultures; an Ankara pattern that is common in ceremonial garments in African cultures; and a paisley pattern that is common in Indian cultures.
“Growth culture is a concept and an idea that looks at help-seeking,” Wells said. “It looks at and identifies that we are building community, that we are diverse and that we are standing on growth.”
The mural was completed by Project Backboard, a nonprofit that helps renovate and revitalize basketball courts with works of art. It was founded in 2015 and has completed similar projects in New York, Chicago and Puerto Rico.
“It’s great to see art and sports and recreation — everything — come together,” Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen said. “It’s so vibrant, and it’s right here in the center of Des Moines.”
The project was headed by Aaron Graves, a park planner with the City of Des Moines, starting back in 2020 with park renovations.
“This entire project, from the basketball court improvements to the mural, it wouldn’t have happened without community,” Graves said at the ceremony. “The old court wasn’t necessarily functioning the way we wanted it to. We wanted to make sure it was accessible and really exciting.”
LongShots Tournament the first event on the completed basketball court
After Saturday morning’s event, the fifth annual LongShots Tournament organized by the B. Wells Foundation took to the courts.
“I spent a lot of time at this park just growing up, and to circle back here and be on our fifth annual Long Shot sermon, is crazy to actually think about … just full fruition,” Billy Weathers, the foundation’s founder, said.
The LongShots Tournament began in 2019 to bring together community members, friends, families and neighbors. This year, custom basketballs with the “Growth Culture” mural design on them were used for the tournament.
“Today is about the kids and just celebrating the youth in our city,” Weathers said. “We have a responsibility to make sure that we’re leaving in better hands than we found it.”
Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com.
