On September 12, 2026, Basil Kincaid unveiled a calisthenics pocket park at a neighborhood block party on the corner of Chippewa Street and Pennsylvania in Gravois Park, St. Louis.

The project began with Kincaid's own experience. As a large-scale quilt practice grew in scale and ambition, calisthenics training became essential to building the physical strength the work demanded. The effects extended well beyond the studio. Over time, Kincaid noticed that cities where the work was exhibited, including New York, Los Angeles, London, and Milan, had outdoor fitness spaces that fostered a distinct kind of community. People shared knowledge, encouraged each other, and trained together in ways that felt fundamentally different from the gym. Gravois Park, St. Louis had nothing comparable.

Kincaid partnered with the Melvin Theater Community Center, a neighborhood anchor offering arts programming and community support, and Danish outdoor fitness equipment designer KOMPAN to design and build the park on a lot adjacent to the Melvin. The resulting space is compact and permanent: an oval footprint with shock-absorbent flooring, monkey bars, parallel bars, and pull-up structures, with posted signage and QR codes guiding visitors through exercises. The equipment requires no moving parts and no admission.

Funding was provided in part by the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis.

Thank you to NPR and St. Louis Magazine for covering this project!

All photos by Jerrime Rogers.