URBAN ART

Giving young people from neighbourhoods the pen and brush to tell their own stories. 

The programme 

Urban Art is a programme at the crossroads of art and civic engagement, designed to give young people from neighbourhoods a voice on what represents them and shapes their daily lives, with the aim of turning this into a work of art – a mural, for example. 

The programme always begins with consultation workshops, organised in partnership with local youth organisations. During these sessions, young people are invited to express themselves freely about their neighbourhood: what they love about it, what defines them, and the symbols and stories that are close to their hearts. From these discussions emerge ideas, words and images. An artist is then selected to bring a piece of art to life directly in the neighbourhood, reflecting the people who live there. Whilst the young people do not take part in the technical creation of the artwork, they are fully responsible for its content: the words used, the colours chosen and the symbols depicted stem directly from their discussions with the artist. The result is a collective work, rooted in the local area, which truly speaks of and for those who live there. 

The programme thus addresses the wider challenge of promoting neighbourhoods – which are often reduced to negative stereotypes – by showcasing their richness, creativity and identity through art.

A first artwork in Charles Hermite 

The first mural as part of the Urban Art programme will be created in the Charles Hermite neighbourhood, just a stone’s throw from the adidas arena. This choice is by no means coincidental: it embodies our endowment fund’s commitment to forging a strong and tangible bond with the communities around us. By installing this first artwork at the foot of the arena, we wish to emphasise that the club and the neighbourhood share a common history, and that this geographical proximity must translate into genuine closeness, built on mutual understanding and shared commitment. 

The beneficiaries 

The programme is aimed at young people from a neighbourhood, brought together through local youth organisations with which we develop each project. This collaboration ensures a strong local presence and genuine closeness to the young people involved, who remain at the heart of the process from start to finish. 

Our commitment 

Through Urban Art, the Paris Basketball Foundation aims to make art a tool for civic expression, serving young people and their neighbourhoods. By giving them the means to tell their story through a lasting work of art, visible to all, we want to highlight their voices, their creativity, and their pride in belonging to a community that they themselves are shaping.