Longtime WNBA Partner Glossier Refurbishes New York’s Tompkins Square Park Basketball Court
In an aim to support the local community and its fledgling athletes, Glossier has teamed with nonprofit organization Project Blackboard and artist Na Chainkua Reindorf to refurbish the Tompkins Square Park basketball court in New York’s East Village.
The cosmetics brand and longtime WNBA partner unveiled the revamped court in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday attended by the local community as well as WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert; Connecticut Sun forward Brionna Jones; New York City Parks commissioner Sue Donoghue and local elected officials including congressman Dan Goldman.
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“Projects like this encourage girls to play basketball and to stay in sports,” said Engelbert, who has worked alongside Glossier since the brand first teamed with the WNBA in 2020, during its COVID-19 “bubble” era.
“Our mission as a company is to change how the world sees beauty, and we do that through the work that we do; the products we make, but most importantly, by engaging in our communities and celebrating beauty in every day life — this is that,” said Kyle Leahy, chief executive officer of Glossier.
The refurbishment is a full-circle moment for the brand, which shot its Stretch Fluid Foundation campaign featuring WNBA athletes at the East Village court last summer, and previously recruited artist Chainkua Reindorf to front its Skywash eye shadow in 2020.
“This is my first time working with Glossier in my capacity as an artist,” said Puerto Rico-based Reindorf, who is Ghanaian and harnessed West African-inspired colorblocking and symbolism for the mural.
“There’s the eye, which is basically this symbol of looking back that shows up in all of my paintings, which depict strong women asserting themselves in different situations. This event is about providing more opportunities for women in sports, so I thought it would be interesting to bring those two elements to the basketball court in a way that also works well with the graphic nature of the court itself.”
Amidst ongoing budget cuts impacting New York’s Parks Department, the initiative — and the surging popularity of the WNBA as of late — “are essential for the youth in our city, empowering young women to engage and contribute to a stronger, healthier and more equitable society, and a more equitable New York City,” Donoghue said.
For Jones, who has grew up in Maryland and has played for the Connecticut Sun since entering the WNBA in 2017, local parks play an essential role in cultivating not just skill — but passion — in young athletes.
“That’s where my love of the game came from; going to the park at my local high school with my siblings and playing with them — that’s where I found the fun and the joy of basketball,” she said.
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