Graffiti News

The Rupert Bell Park basketball court mural honoring Chris Paul, designed and painted by Brian Peterson in collaboration with The Urbane Artist, will be marked with a ribbon cutting hosted by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Public Art Commission on Friday, October 23, 2026, at 10 a.m. The ceremony is at Rupert Bell Park, 1501 Mt. Zion Place, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, the project covers the basketball courts and adjoining pavilion, bringing a tribute to the Winston-Salem native into the park's recreational setting.

The ceremony brings the community to the completed mural

The Public Art Commission is inviting community members, project partners, elected officials and media representatives to attend the ribbon cutting. The October 19 report presents the gathering as a celebration of the completed installation. For anyone arranging to attend, the practical details are the Friday morning start and the park address: 1501 Mt. Zion Place, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.

The setting is central to the project. The artwork extends across the basketball courts and the adjoining pavilion, linking the tribute to the spaces where park visitors gather and play. The basketball setting also connects directly with the person being honored: Paul is a Winston-Salem native and an NBA player. The ceremony brings those elements together at the site of the work itself.

For readers interested in public art as part of a walk, the Wallscape map offers a place to explore locations. Keeping the park's name, address and artist credit together is useful when planning or recording a visit. At Rupert Bell Park, the courts and pavilion are both part of the artwork's setting.

Chris Paul's hometown connections frame the tribute

The mural honors Paul's impact in basketball and his continuing relationship with Winston-Salem. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, Peterson developed the work around Paul's influence on and off the court and his connection to the city. The project's subject therefore includes both a sporting career and community work rooted in the same hometown.

The report identifies Paul as an alumnus of West Forsyth High School, Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University. Those educational connections place the tribute within a local history that extends beyond the basketball courts at Rupert Bell Park. The park project gives that relationship a public art setting, with the work located in Paul's hometown.

Paul also supports youth, education and leadership development initiatives in his hometown through the Chris Paul Family Foundation. That activity is part of the background to the honor. Together, the educational ties and foundation work explain why the project focuses on Paul's relationship with Winston-Salem as well as his identity as an NBA player.

Brian Peterson and The Urbane Artist developed the work together

Brian Peterson designed and painted the mural in collaboration with The Urbane Artist. Peterson is based in Miami, Florida, and creates contemporary murals centered on individuals and communities. The Winston-Salem Journal describes his practice as colorful and community-focused, an approach that also informs the tribute to Paul at Rupert Bell Park.

Peterson's work includes Faces of Mankind, his nonprofit supporting people experiencing homelessness through art. The report places that work alongside his mural practice and notes that his art appears in public spaces across the country. His background connects the park project with an artist whose practice includes both public paintings and work with people facing housing insecurity.

The Urbane Artist is a national public art agency working with communities, artists and organizations. Its services include artist selection, project management, community engagement and installation support. For Rupert Bell Park, the agency facilitated the mural process and worked with Peterson from concept through completion. The collaboration brought artistic production and project coordination into the same process.

Residents participated in shaping the public art project

Residents contributed through public engagement opportunities, including participation in selecting the artist. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, that involvement played an important role in shaping the project. Community participation was therefore part of the work's development, before the invitation to gather at the ribbon cutting.

Funding came through the Choice Neighborhood Revitalization Public Art Project in partnership with ASPIRE and the City of Winston-Salem. That framework links the mural to a public art initiative involving the city and its project partner. The resident participation, funding partnership and artist-agency collaboration each describe a different part of how the completed work came together.

The October 23 ceremony will bring the public back to the place where those contributions meet: the park's courts and pavilion. The tribute centers on Paul, while the making of the project also involves residents, an artist, a public art agency and local partners. Those connections give the installation its specific place in Winston-Salem's public art.

Source: Winston-Salem Journal