Sasha Amaya

ALLEZ HOP
Sasha Amaya and Thea Pedersen
Illuminate the Night
Nuit Blanche Winnipeg
2019

ALLEZ HOP is an outdoor, accessible basketball court. Created by Sasha Amaya and Thea Pedersen through the Illuminate the Night Fund at Nuit Blanche Winnipeg 2019, the creators installed a court influenced by sport, art, and design, and an event in collaboration with special guests, including the Manitoba Wheelchair Sports Association and an LGBTQ+ adults team.

The evening began with youth games from the athletic members of the MWSA, followed later in the night by a series of games and open court sessions. MWSA members were there on hand with extra wheelchairs to introduce people of all abilities to the sport of wheelchair basketball, while a DJ brought the games into a full party as the night grew on.

For more information on Nuit Blanche, click here.

PRESS ON ALLEZ HOP

Allez Hop! listed as a “Top 4” must-see exhibit at Nuit Blanche Winnipeg. To see the Exchange District Biz’s Nuit Blanche Must See List, click here; for CTV News see here; or for CBC Canada, click here.

The Projector‘s Sarah Vandale on Allez Hop! as a community event X extreme sport:

This was James Harvey, 22, and James Couture’s, 22, first time watching a wheelchair basketball game. “It’s a lot cooler to watch wheelchair basketball than regular basketball,” Couture said.

“It’s almost like an extreme sport,” Harvey added.  “I would love to see regular basketball players try to do it in a chair.”

Unrau said the community’s response to the event was incredible.

“It’s great to have a crowd out, to grow the awareness of inclusive and accessible sport for everyone and just show that everyone can play together,” Unrau said. “Basketball is a fully inclusive sport.”

To read the full article, click here.

The Manitoban‘s Emilia Fournier covers Allez Hop!, sport, and urban space:

“This is a longer-term project where we’re working with the athletes… thinking about what sport means, what the connections between sport and art are, what accessibility is,” said Amaya.

“We hope that people will begin to think more about the many types of sport there are out there, but also about opportunities to create more permanent urban spaces for all people to be outside.”

To read the full article, click here.


The Projector publishes video recap of the night: watch “Looking at the Lights of Nuit Blanche” here.