ABOVE THE RIM
PHIL AMERICA + THINK TANK GALLERY ARE HEADING TO THE EPICENTER OF BASKETBALL TO TURN THE CAM RALEIGH ART MUSEUM INTO A 3V3 BASKETBALL COURT, DESIGNED BY ARTISTS.
THE EXPERIENCE LASTS OCTOBER 5 2018 - FEBRUARY 3, 2019
Above The Rim is an exploration of basketball through the lens of art, and all of the strength, joy and beauty that lies therein. Bringing together a group of international artists, it surveys the energy, poetry, community, dedication, and excitement that is the game of basketball.
“Basketball is an intricate, high-speed game filled with split-second, spontaneous decisions.” “. . . spontaneity isn't random.” - Malcolm Gladwell
Above The Rim assembles a collection of works that, together, tell the story of basketball. The exhibition includes work by Filipe Pantone, Michael Murphy, Victor Solomon, Jonas Wood, JC Ro, Freehand Profit, JBF Customs, Monica Garza, Stephen Powers, Spok, and Devin Troy Strother.
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PRIOR PARTNERS INCLUDE
PRIOR COVERAGE INCLUDES
Above The Rim will feature internationally renowned artists that use various media to communicate their message through the lens of basketball. A half court basketball court will be built inside the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh, North Carolina, transforming the museum itself into a wildly colorful and immersive artwork.
CAM Raleigh is located at the center of what has been called the “crossroads of the basketball universe” because of its proximity to three of the top basketball schools in the US: UNC, Duke, and NC State. Because of this, the region is basketball obsessed.
INSPIRATION
Basketball has inspired billions of people around the globe for decades. Members of our team have traveled the world speaking only the language of basketball, going as far as Buddhist temples above the clouds for 3v3 tournaments. Below are some hoop memories that are near to us, those that inform the aesthetic of this experience.
We welcome you to add the moments that made you fall in love with this game to those below:
"DOIN' IT IN THE PARK: PICK-UP BASKETBALL, NYC" (2016) Trailer
"Just For Kicks" The First Sneaker Documentary (2003) Trailer
Nike Freestyle Commercial (2001)
THE MUSEUM
Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh (CAM Raleigh) is the non-collecting contemporary art museum that provides an environment for transformation through educational programs, cultural experiences, and bold, non-traditional exhibitions by living artists. It is a forward thinking and cutting edge institution and has exhibited some of the most relevant artists in the world.
Read more about the museum here.
THE TRIANGLE
The “Triangle” region of North Carolina is a powerhouse of college basketball. Above the Rim opens at the start of a very promising 2018-19 season for North Carolina basketball fans.
Basketball is embedded into the life and culture of the Triangle, and makes up a huge part of the history of Raleigh-Durham. Friendly rivalries, incredible sportsmanship, and the highest level of competition creates a sense of community that draws huge attention to the sport.
This region is basketball obsessed, and is the perfect location to host a basketball themed art exhibition.
Ask us how we can help you engage the most active basketball fans in the world.
Filipe Pantone is an Argentinian-Spanish artist. He graduated with a Fine Art degree in Valencia, Spain where his studio is based. His work has been exhibited across Europe, America, Australia, and Asia. His work fuses graffiti, typography, and abstract together using geometric shapes and bright patterns.
Kori Newkirk. In sculpture, photography, video, and mixed media, Kori Newkirk transforms everyday images and objects—often drawn from African-American and pop culture—to explore issues of race, gender, and place, in what the artist calls “ghetto-fabulous conceptualism”. His work in Above The Rim will be one of his well-known basketball sculptures.
Bryce Lankard. Bryce Lankard is a native of North Carolina, and a UNC-Chapel HiIl alumnus. He has been immersed in photography his entire adult life. In addition to being an editorial and fine art photographer he has also served in the roles of Art Director, Photo Editor, Educator, Curator and Principal Photographer, from New Orleans to New York City. Returning to North Carolina in early 2009 he has continued to share his knowledge by teaching and lecturing at venues such as UNC, the Gregg Museum, the Art Institute, the Light Factory, the ArtsCenter and Duke's Center for Documentary Studies. During his time at UNC he shot numerous basketball games and will show unpublished photos of Michael Jordan and others during their collegiate years.
Michael Murphy was born in Youngstown, Ohio and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He attended Kent State University for a BFA in Sculpture, and graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago with an MFA in Art and Technology. Michael Murphy’s methodological approach to creating multi-dimensional, sculptural pieces aims to connect the viewer’s experience with layers of delicate meaning. Murphy’s work has appeared in New York’s Washington Square Park and Times Square, and he has done commissioned work for TIME Magazine, Nike, and numerous other public and private entities.
Victor Solomon is a multi-media artist based in Los Angeles, California. He uses traditional stained glass media to interrogate the iconography of basketball.
Estevan Oriol is a Mexican American photographer and director based in Los Angeles, California. His work has been featured in numerous magazines, usually reflects Los Angeles urban and gang culture, and he has also photographed many celebrities including Eminem, Kim Kardashian, Cypress Hill, Dennis Hopper, Blink 182, Forest Whitaker, Adrien Brody, Xzibit, 50 Cent, Danny Trejo and more.
Freehand Profit (Gary Lockwood) came up in the Washington area with a passion for Hip-Hop, graffiti, sneakers and art. In 2005 he graduated from the Corcoran School of Art & Design with a Bachelor's in Fine Arts. In 2010 with the search for new materials he began creating gas masks from deconstructed sneakers.
Monica Kim Garza is an artist born in Alamogordo, Mexico. She later moved to San Francisco, California and received a BFA in Painting and Drawing from the California College of Arts. Her paintings depict nude women in an honest and refreshing way.
Stephen "ESPO" Powers is an artist based in New York City artist who at one time wrote graffiti in Philadelphia and New York under the name ESPO. His colorful murals and signs create a withstanding link between communities and their surroundings.
Spok is an artist based in Madrid, Spain. Merging street art with fine art, his fascinating hyper-realistic technique and large formats establish a strong dialogue with the viewer.
Hueman (Allison Torneros) is an Oakland-based mural artist and painter. Her best-known works include a Nike-commissioned portrait of Kobe Bryant, a mural for P Diddy's Revolt TV office and "Ritual", a 9-day, free-styled, floor-to-ceiling mural installation in a 5,000 sq foot warehouse space.
Devin Troy Strother is a Los Angeles-based artist known for his colorful and iconic painting and sculpture work. His work often focuses on basketball culture and imagery.
THINK TANK GALLERY
Think Tank Gallery is an alternative arts space and immersive production company that has set its roots as a 13,000 sq ft graffiti gallery in Downtown Los Angeles since 2010. Since then, we have evolved to build themed Post-Street Art experiences around the country, and we hide content in every corner. From building a coffee house inside a warehouse with performances on its patio, to running a nightly skate park inside a gallery that streams video feeds through the ramps, to running a monthlong event series in a giant cake wonderland with Cirque du Soleil, Think Tank Gallery nails the branding without upsetting the vibe.
We create meaningful, not mindless, entertainment. See some of our previous work below.
PHIL AMERICA
Phil America is a California-raised artist, writer, and activist. His work focuses on individual moments of freedom while exploring class, gender, and race. He uses installation and sculpture, performance, photography, video, and fashion to create understanding and connection between people.
Above The Rim is a multi platform exhibition and as such, has myriad branding opportunities. The exhibition features a chance to not only integrate your brand into a massive cultural conversation, but a rare chance to bring a cultural moment into the institution, and the surrounding visual landscape of the community itself.
Brand opportunities are presented seamlessly in our show: they're natural, subtle, and smooth. The basketball court installation that is at the center of Above The Rim is an exciting aspect of the show that encompasses the viewer in an interactive way, and effortlessly transforms the entire space into an extremely Instagrammable environment. We've done this many times over – click here to see a list of the nation's 25 Most Instagrammed art institutions, including the Guggenheim, LACMA, Wynwood Arts District, and our own Think Tank Gallery, as compiled by VICE Magazine.
Scroll down for a few opportunities to capitalize on the emerging trend of art as integrative advertising, and use this exhibition as a powerful tool to reach new audiences and develop a meaningful connection with them by creating engaging content and experiences. And ask us how to be the presenting party of the entire experience and let everyone in for free, or present any number of original, site-specific activations.
INTERACTIVE INDOOR 3V3 TOURNAMENT ART INSTALLATION
Mockup of CAM Main Gallery with basketball court installation (actual court will feature artwork by Filipe Pantone).
This is the first time a basketball court will be built inside an art museum, by artist Felipe Pantone. Merging functionality and aesthetics, the court at once creates a visually encompassing work that you can enter and interact with, and explores the concept of basketball from a socio-cultural perspective.
The court will be host to a series of 3v3 games, an integral part of the community outreach programming of Above The Rim, one that can be hosted in a number of ways.
We view it as an opportunity to engage youth in a positive way in an active and artistic environment. By bringing together these two worlds and bridging the gap between them, we hope to connect with youth communities through art and basketball in a holistic way that makes the museum space more accessible and less intimidating.
ABOVE THE RIM: THE BOOK
CAM is distributing Above The Rim, a full-color exhibition catalogue including photographs, documentation of the installation, and newly commissioned writing designed by Simon Jung Christensen.
It will be distributed by Think Tank to bookstores throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and can be implemented into your product drops for the Fall season of 2018. Additional book content and merchandise opportunities are also available, as us how to get involved.
ABOVE THE RIM EVENTS SERIES
Above The Rim includes programming hosted at the museum and in the community, with opportunities to extend this throughout the Raleigh-Durham – "Triangle" – area. Events include artist talks, family days, musical events, outreach opportunities, workshops, dunk competitions, performative pieces, and sneaker swaps.
These events will begin the week before the October 4th opening and continue throughout the next three months. Ask us how to partner for all of them or ideate programs that fit your marketing through 2019.
THINK TANK GALLERY: NORTH CAROLINA – GALLERY SHOW
Think Tank Gallery has run a decorated alternative arts program in Downtown Los Angeles since the dawn of its cultural revitalization. Many of its accomplishments have brought big brands to new audiences, including highly conceptual collaborations with Playboy, Vans, Cirque du Soleil, Sailor Jerry and more. Some of these have cleared the way for other large productions downtown, like our 2016 immersive art and programming series Break Bread (with Cirque du Soleil) which saw over 32,000 guests in a month and enabled such brands as the Museum of Ice Cream and 29rooms to follow suit, to great success.
Our team of directors and creatives has been highly involved in basketball since birth, and is eager to enter the heart of basketball country since setting a mission last year to expand outward from DTLA. Since setting that mission, the team has produced shows in Oakland, on the Santa Monica Pier, and now Raleigh, NC. The October 2018 experience will take the signature Think Tank Gallery commitment to immersion, and apply it to a lifestyle they know better than any other.
Think Tank Gallery and Phil America have a long list of artist-hoopers who will create brand new work and experiences at a series of art events and parties down the street from the museum; ask us how to collaborate with them or brand out that show.
PUBLIC BASKETBALL COURT MURALS + INSTALLATIONS
As a part of the extension of Above The Rim and its outreach into the community, murals will be painted on public basketball courts in schools and public parks. Raleigh and surrounding areas contain an unprecedented number of public basketball courts, and every one of them is highly used. Each court will have a different design aesthetic and be the work of a different artist. Creating courts reminiscent of those featured on Hypecourts, a popular Instagram run by Hypebeast, these courts will be transformed into works of art that build an engaging environment and connect with the community.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT JACOB PATTERSON
THINKTANKGALLERY@GMAIL.COM – 916.670.3801