Polanco Court at
Harriet & Sayles Park
The second annual My HomeCourt project was unveiled at Harriet & Sayles Park in Providence, Rhode Island on Wednesday, October 16, 2019.
Providence College Galleries (PC–G) commissioned internationally renowned artists Joiri Minaya and Jordan Seaberry for the designs of the two courts. Their unveiling coincides with the renaming of the park’s court to Omar Polanco Basketball Court to honor the legacy of hope and generosity of the late Omar Polanco, his family and the local community.
The Designs
Joiri Minaya, based in New York, is known for multi-media installations that explore constructions of identity and multi-cultural social spaces. She designed one half of the My HomeCourt mural to celebrate the Dominican-American cultural heritage of the neighborhood by prominently featuring flora native to the Carribean landscape. Washes of blues and greens evoke a calming, watery backdrop for a lush bouquet of Plumeria, Caoba and Flaboyan flowers, among other tropical plants.
Jordan Seaberry, an artist and activist who lives and works in Providence, took a more personal approach to his court design. The side of the court he designed shows a transcendent silhouetted figure of Omar framed by sublime imagery—night skies, glistening water, palms, doves and ribbons—rendered in a dramatic color palette symbolizing love, hope and goodwill.
Digital rendering of Minaya and Seaberry’s court designs.
