UNDSCVRD ball court opens in the heart of SF’s SOMA Pilipinas

The UNDSCVRD Court in San Francisco, a community endeavor. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO — Kultivate Labs recently inaugurated another venture that celebrates culture and community in the heart of San Francisco.

The Labs’ UNDSCVRD (basketball) Court opened with a launch party on Friday, Sept.13 at 541 Stevenson Street, between 6^th and 7^th Streets in South of Market.

Kultivate Labs is one of the top winners of ABS-CBN International’s Epic Youth Leadership Awards (EYLA) held earlier this year,

According to Kultivate Labs Executive Director Desi Danganan, “What we really see the UNDSCVRD Court doing for the community is creating a new anchor for people to come, meet their neighbors, hang out, and have fun.” He adds, “We had a vision and a plan. We put it out there to the universe. We let people know how they can help and then they came through.”

Kultivate Labs Executive Director Desi Danganan says that the UNDSCVRD Court reflects “bayanihan.” CONTRIBUTED

Over 75 different volunteers came over in the course of two weeks to build the court.  Students, the elderly, homeless shelter residents, employees, friends and families of stakeholders came together to help create something beautiful.

Artist and illustrator Andre Sibayan designed the overall look of the court, which resembles vinta sails from the south of the Philippines with their assorted colors representing the rich culture and history of their community.

San Francisco District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney led the ceremonial basketball shootout at the UNDSCVRD Court opening. CONTRIBUTED

Sibayan says that the design “needed to be something vibrant, it needed to be something colorful.” He adds that “it was about many hands coming together to create something that is not only beautiful, but also useful.”

District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney held a ceremonial hoops shootout with Director of SF Office of Economic and Workforce Development Joaquin Torres. Haney said he was “excited with what this is going to mean for this neighborhood, for this street, for South of Market, for SOMA Pilipinas.”

The UNDSCVRD Court is a two-month pop-up to build a new attraction in SOMA Pilipinas. Kultivate Labs is working with stakeholders in the area to activate and revitalize dead space in the district through sports and culturally relevant art to spark economic opportunity for emerging entrepreneurs.

Danganan hopes that “the success of the UNDSCVRD Court will spark a new tradition in the cultural district, where we take forgotten alleys and parking lots and we renovate them and spark new life into them every year.”

The court is open Mondays to Fridays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.. Aside from league games, the UNDSCVRD Court will also be used for movie nights, dance workshops and yoga classes. For more information or to sign up to play in the league, go to www.undscvrdcourt.com.