Mural and repairs bring new life to the basketball courts at Hissey Playground in Kensington

Larry Fullwood sat at center court of Hissey Playground in Kensington laying down drafting tape Saturday afternoon. He was anxiously methodical in approaching his first mural project.

Over and over he ripped a short piece of tape, stuck it to the cement and stepped back, mapping out the design in his head.

Fullwood, a 20-year-old junior at Temple’s Tyler School of Art who goes by “Ashy Artt,” was oblivious to the Immortal Vision Studio community event surrounding him. He wore all black with a white T-shirt draped around his neck protecting him from the glaring sun. He ensured every piece of tape lined up perfectly before touching the paint jars.

“It pretty much all starts with a rough draft. I’m heavy on that – always start off really loose,” said Fullwood, who grew up in Jacksonville, Fla. “It’s taking a little longer than I thought but Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

The mural was part of a court restoration project sponsored by CJ Wolfe, CEO and founder of Immortal Vision Studio, located two blocks from Hissey. They repainted all the lines and hung up nets bringing new life to the playground.

“I drive past this park almost every day to go to work,” Wolfe said. “It upsets me to see the court not restored or people asking for money or I see kids that need school supplies. So I told myself, when we’re giving back to the community and we’re pouring into the community, we have to start here in Kensington.”

Immortal Vision’s community weekend also featured financial literacy classes Saturday morning. School supplies and food were distributed throughout the day in partnership with Fulton Bank and Philabundance.

“August of 2021 was our first community weekend,” Wolfe said. “We said we’re going to make this a tradition. But last year we didn’t have many resources for it because we just started our business. Last year we cleaned the streets and as the network grew we got the support we needed to bring it down to the park.”

Wolfe’s inspiration for renovating the court came from his experience at Max Myers Playground while growing up in Northeast Philly. It’s where he learned to play and found his love for basketball. He went on to play at Delaware Valley Charter High School and Gwynedd Mercy University.

A flier on Temple’s campus for Immortal Vision Studios piqued Fullwood’s interest. He perused their Instagram page, saw it was a Black-owned, content-creation business and applied to the internship program.

There were no open spots for interns but leaning on Fullwood’s determination to get involved, Wolfe made him a brand ambassador.

Designing a basketball court mural was one of his first major projects. He had a detailed digital sketch within 48 hours, drawing inspiration from the “visual language” of Immortal Vision’s branding.

“You just got to go with the flow and then find what works for you,” Fullwood said about executing his first mural project. “Once you get the hang of it, it starts getting a little easier. … It was definitely very intimidating but you gotta step out of your comfort zone. Once you get out of your comfort zone good stuff happens.”

At center court is a rendition of the company’s logo. All the out-of-bounds and three-point lines were redrawn. Beneath each basket will be globes sitting over hands to represent having the world in the palm of your hands.

More importantly than the shared artistic vision, the restoration helped create an outlet for neighborhood kids to find a love for basketball the same way Wolfe did.

“The fact that we can, for one, create and do what we love to do and do what we do best is awesome,” Wolfe said. “But it’s the fact that we can do that for the youth here at a place that meant so much to me growing up – a basketball court – where my dreams started. Inner city kid, the park was the only thing I knew. To bridge the gap between arts and basketball is a pleasure.”