A Bermudian artist in Halifax with a deep love of basketball that began in the school gym back home has watched his tribute to the city’s historically Black community of Uniacke Square thrive since its completion.

Vere “Duane” Jones Jr, an award-winning conceptual artist, designer and podcast host, worked in tandem with the marginalised community in Halifax’s North End to transform the basketball courts into a celebration of its African roots.

“Now the courts are being used a lot more than they were, and there’s a certain pride,” Mr Jones said of his handiwork one year on.

“I just remember when we were out there working on it, and strangers would pass by cheering at us. There have been music videos shot there.

“People would gather there anyway — but it’s a community gathering space.”

Originally from Devonshire and raised in Loyal Hill, Mr Jones came to Halifax in 2000 to study at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. As he recalled it, he “graduated and pretty much stayed”.

The city’s Black neighbourhood of Uniacke Square quickly became familiar ground.

Mr Jones said: “When I moved to Halifax, I lived in that community. Some of the guys I would compete with back in the day are now dads of players. So I have a connection.”

The basketball courts, while not dilapidated, had seen better days, with crooked rims and the asphalt in poor shape.

They caught the attention of Buckets & Borders, a programme founded on the principles of unity through basketball that works in marginalised communities throughout Canada.

Uniacke comes with a unique pedigree, as public housing built to accommodate the African Nova Scotian population of a deep-rooted community called Africville.

Its residents had been displaced in the city’s 1960s urban renewal projects.

The area’s history, along with the basketball courts restoration project, can be viewed online in the short YouTube video The Square.

Mr Jones said of the area: “People would tell me to stay out of there; it’s not safe. And it was fine.

“I knew that these courts had a lot of significance. I have a lot of friends who grew up in that area and played there.

“It reminded me of when I’d go places like Shelly Bay, Parsons Road and Loyal Hill to play. It built my character at the time.”

He added: “What I always noticed is there was a feeling in the Black community that they got forgotten oftentimes, when it comes to challenges going on or just in general. It’s hard to find advocacy.”

In the summer of 2024, Buckets & Borders collaborated with Halifax community leaders, Canada Basketball and the Halifax Regional Municipality to restore Uniacke Square’s three basketball courts.

A call went out for local artists to design a makeover. One of Mr Jones’s friends sent him a link.

He told The Royal Gazette: “I had been talking about wanting to design one, so it felt like the universe was sending me a sign — it was a perfect project for me.”

A self-described “basketball dad”, Mr Jones has been “pretty much obsessed” with the game since his schooldays at The Berkeley Institute. Although naturally athletic, he struggled to translate his skills into real-game scenarios.

He plays once a week, but much of his time with the sport revolves around driving his 15-year-old daughter, Ella — who just made the varsity team at Armbrae Academy in Halifax — to and from basketball practice, games and tournaments.

The artist, best known for his art-focused clothing brand Art Pays Me, is a regular contributor to creative juries and boards.

His concept for the Uniacke Square courts, which got accepted, took form as Squaretown.

Mr Jones said: “The restoration included new asphalt, rims, backboards and an on-court mural on each court designed by me.”

Young people from the community came with their own ideas for its look.

He said: “They wanted red, green, yellow, black. These are the colours of Pan-Africanism, and it just so happened these were the colours the kids were asking for.

“The African design was very intentional. I looked up pan-African symbolism and worked it into the design.”

It also fit with the lines and dimensions of a tournament-quality basketball court.

Nowadays, Mr Jones, 44, lives in the Timberlea suburb outside Halifax, but the courts at Uniacke Square have deeply personal associations.

He said: “I sponsor a youth basketball team in a tournament called The Crown that’s hosted on those courts every year.

“We refurbished the courts in 2024, and that was the first year that my daughter would be playing for my team.”

His daughter was getting “more competitive” with the sport as the courts were transformed. In one of “those small-world things”, a girl on her team had a father from Bermuda.

He added: “My brother also helped me coach that year, so it felt really significant on multiple levels.”

The success of the project is evident now on the courts and their environs.

Mr Jones, meanwhile, has more basketball artwork on the way, with paintings themed around the sport in the works for an exhibition next January.

He said he did not see home “as often as I would like”. He last visited the island in 2019, but hopes to return for the Bermuda Biennial next year.

Meanwhile, Ella gets to play basketball on her father’s creations, which have received an Award of Merit in the Halifax Urban Design Awards.

Mr Jones said: “She thinks it’s pretty cool.

“She also doesn’t let me feel too big about myself. But sometimes teachers will talk to her and find out I did the court, and she says they get all weird about it.”