Check out our launch video!
Polysh: A Sneaker Art Showdown
You ready to compete toe-to-toe, creating your own custom pair of basketball shoes?
Just like on the court, you’re gonna need to balance fundamentals with flare. So pick up the brush and get in the paint. It’s game on. Polysh is a platform for young creatives all over the state of Indiana to connect and showcase their artistic abilities through sneaker art competitions.
In June and July some of the most artistically gifted middle school and high school students from South Bend, Indianapolis, and Evansville will compete in a preliminary sneaker art competition in their cities. Judges at each competition will select the 5 best artists in each age group to move on to a State Finals competition that will happen on Saturday, August 16th at the Indiana State Fair.
Courtney Johnson
EVANSVILLE
Courtney Johson is the Founder and Executive Director of Young & Established - a youth serving non profit in Evansville. Y&E creates environments that uplift, empower, and inspire the next generation of youth in The Pocket City. Johnson’s belief is that every child, regardless of their circumstances deserves the opportunity to realize their potential.
The use of art as as a form of therapy has been an initiative of Young & Established’s Creative Spaces Program. Creative spaces provides an extensive range of creative activities - painting, drawing, dance, music, & writing - that empower individuals to express & process their emotions positively & productively.
Over the past three years Y&E has dedicated time and energy to promoting local artists by organizing events and showcasing artwork throughout the Evansville community.
Marvin Curtis
SOUTH BEND
Chicago, Illinois native Dr. Marvin Curtis is an award winning artist whose gift and expertise lies in music. He is the first African American composer commissioned to write a choral work for a Presidential Inauguration. His work, The City on the Hill, premiered at President Clinton's 1993 Inauguration.
Curtis has a Doctor of Education from the University of Pacific while also studying at the famed Julliard School of Music in New York City. His life's work has been in Education. Before retiring Dr. Curtis was most recently the Dean of the the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend.
Dr. Curtis is representing the City of South Bend in getting young artists connected and engaged through POLYSH.
Brian Phillips
INDIANAPOLIS
Brian Phillips is the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Indianapolis' award winning, full-service ad agency, The Basement.
At his core Phillips is a graffiti artist and basketball fanatic. In 2022 he helped connect his two loves - art and hoops - by bringing a sneaker art competition to The City League.
In the spring of 2025 Brian and his creative team took the lead in building a fresh, new sneaker art brand, POLYSH, that will give exposure and build connection amongst young artists all over the state of Indiana.
