This past weekend, six-time NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire, Miami Heat’s power forward and center, along with internationally acclaimed visual artist and Chicago native, Hebru Brantley, joined together for a live art installation for community children at Little Black Pearl Art and Design Academy. The event set the stage to inspire kids to engage in the arts.

Throughout the evening, Stoudemire and Brantley painted several paintings with the children as Amar’e took breaks to autograph basketballs. Hebru Brantley was invited to create an interactive experience for the students at Little Black Pearl.

This is the second “In The Paint” series launched by Stoudemire through his Melech Collection, a platform he created to provide access between emerging artists and burgeoning art enthusiasts. The collection, which translated means “King,” is a platform to simultaneously educate and introduce to mainstream pop culture, emerging artists and the industry of contemporary art.

Brantley’s work can be described as pop- infused contemporary art inspired by Japanese anime and the bold aesthetics of street art pioneers Jean Michel Basquiat, Kaws and Keith Haring.
Recognized nationally for public works and solo shows, his work has been exhibited in London, Geneva, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles and New York, including at Art Basel Switzerland, Art Basel Miami, and the Scope NYC boutique shop.

The “In the Paint” series will take place in local communities throughout the country, bringing the worlds of art and basketball together. Towards the end of the evening, both Stoudemire and Brantley presented a $20,000 check to Little Black Pearl. Located at 1060 East 47th Street, Little Black Pearl Art and Design Academy serves a maximum of 200 students from grades 9-12. In addition to a rigorous academic program, the school offers college preparatory, arts and technology training in visual arts, music and technology.