Double Dribble is a new site-specific visual arts commission by Ontario-based artist Esmaa Mohamoud. Through the illogical use of basketball motifs, Mohamoud’s work will transform a 250-ft section of The Bentway into a surreal and play-able basketball court.

This new site-specific commission is comprised of 30 basketball nets of varying colour and diameter, from half-size, to 3X the size of a standard net, with court lines running dysfunctionally underneath the Gardiner Expressway. Nets, crafted from elongated chain threads, and based on designs from Mohamoud’s 2015 “I AM” series, will be affixed to the Gardiner’s massive concrete columns, ranging from heights impossible for human reach—up to 4-storeys above ground—to near ground-level, enabling varying levels playability and accessibility.

About Playing in Public at the Bentway:

The Bentway’s Summer 2021 season of artwork, themed around “playing in public”, will explore play’s role in shaping decisions about city fabric: Who writes the rules of play? How can they be unwritten? Who’s invited to play, and who isn’t?  How can we use play to create shared experiences and launch engaging conversations among a diverse population?

Playing In Public will include a mix of interactive installations and artist-designed play equipment, viewable (and playable!) for free everyday, as well as a series of durational events, performances, tours, and workshops.

PIA is proud to support two site-specific commissions at The Bentway as part of Playing In Public.