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UNDSCVRD Court opens in the heart of SOMA
to celebrate culture and community

   
SAN FRANCISCO --- Kultivate Labs, one of the top winners of ABS-CBN International’s Epic Youth Leadership Awards (EYLA) held earlier this year, recently inaugurated another venture that celebrates culture and community in the heart of the city.
The opening of the UNDSCVRD Court was held with a launch party on Friday, September 13^th at 541 Stevenson Street, between 6^th and 7^th Streets in South of Market. 
 
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.”

   
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, which represents the rich culture and history of their community. Sibayan emphasized 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 played the ceremonial shootout with Director of SF Office of Economic and Workforce Development Joaquin Torres. Haney expressed that he is “excited 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.