SWISH

“SWISH” is a project initiated in 2019 by GDMPAF that transforms basketball courts in ethnically diverse and low-income areas. The project involved two phases with a mural in each location: first on the basketball court at Oakridge Neighborhood in Des Moines, and second: a traditional mural on the side of Oakridge’s Building 301.

Jordan Weber, a Des Moines native and artist-activist, was the lead artist and designer for both murals. The theme that carries through both pieces honors Yore Jieng, a 14-year-old Oakridge resident whose life was taken too soon. He loved basketball and spent many hours on the very same court. Five years after his death, in the fall of 2021, dozens of people gathered at the court to dedicate the newly completed King Yore I mural atop the court he used to play on so often. The image depicts Yore wearing a Laker’s jersey and a titled Nubian crown atop his head with flowers from South Sudan.

In 2002, Yore’s family immigrated from Sudan. The piece draws on both Yore’s Sudanese roots and his accomplishments here in Iowa. Weber explained further, “The idea was to put a crown on Yore’s head slightly tilted because we know how hard it is to make it out of situations that we may be from.” King Yore II, the second mural in the project, covers a wall at Oakridge facing Blank Children’s Hospital. Painted by Jill Wells, the image depicts Yore yet again with a crown, but instead outlines his silhouette in native Sudanese flowers and butterflies, memorializing his life.

With both phases of the SWISH project completed, an event of celebration and remembrance was held in January of 2023 at Oakridge. King Yore I & II remind us of what Yore enjoyed most in life and serves as a statement to the dreams and potential of all who will step onto the court.