The Keith Haring Fitness Park planned to open this fall on Kutztown University’s campus has received a boost from a $100,000 state grant.
The park is being created through a partnership of KU and the Kutztown Community Partnership, and officials say it will be one-of-a-kind facility that will help promote health and wellness in the community while incorporating the artwork of Haring, a Kutztown native.
The interactive park, which will be open to the public, will be on the corner of Baldy Street and Normal Avenue.
The project cost $200,000 plus maintenance expenses, and the KU Foundation is now raising funds and accepting inquiries for sponsorships. The title sponsor will have their name placed below Keith Haring’s signature in the fitness park, KU officials said in a press release.
State Sen. Judy Schwank, who as a Berks County legislator had advocated for the grant, announced it at a press conference Thursday.
“It’s not every day a project this unique comes across my desk,” she said. “The Keith Haring Fitness Park not only celebrates the artwork and legacy of one of Berks County’s most famous sons, but it also promotes healthy living and will greatly benefit the surrounding community. You can really feel the excitement around this project.”
Also collaborating to create the park are the Keith Haring Foundation in New York, Outdoor Fitness Court, and the National Fitness Campaign.
The fitness court will feature a 32-foot by 35-foot outdoor bodyweight circuit training system with 30 pieces of body-weight fitness elements, including seven full-body circuit training stations and a body-weight training wall.
KU will pour a concrete pad for the National Fitness Campaign team to install the custom park, which will feature Haring’s iconic dancing figure designs, officials said.
Haring was a legendary activist and artist who revolutionized pop art through his graffiti-like pieces full of abstract lines and colorful flairs, officials said. His 1980s illustrations grew out of the New York street culture and have become a widely recognized visual language to many.
Sandy Green, community liaison and government relations assistant at KU, was among the school officials thanking Schwank for her support.
“Students, faculty, staff and community members will have the opportunity to take advantage of the Keith Haring Outdoor Fitness Park,” she said. “Fitness is a primary pillar of health, and anything we can do to make it more fun, beautiful and accessible to everyone is a win for the Kutztown community.”
KU officials said that despite Haring’s worldwide fame, he always stayed true to his roots and would often refer to himself as “Keith from Kutztown.”
Haring went to Kutztown High School and his legacy lives on throughout the borough of Kutztown.
To honor his hometown, Haring in the early 1990s gifted the ‘Untitled (Figure Balancing on Dog)’ to Kutztown Park, where the sculpture remains today. More of his art can be found on a floor mural in the New Arts Program building nestled right on Main Street, where it is preserved under coats of polyurethane.
Haring also gifted a 1984 drawing of the Nativity scene to Kutztown’s St. John’s United Church of Christ, where he was baptized as an infant. Haring lived next door and went to what used to be the Kutztown Middle School but was purchased in 1979 to become the home of the Kutztown Area Historical Society. The historical society, 212 S. Whiteoak St,. features original Haring art drawn on several chalkboards that are protected under plexiglass. His elementary art can also be found in the halls of the buildings of the Kutztown School District.
In November 2021, Haring’s niece, Yenna Hill, designed a mural on the side of Young One’s Records, 26 S. Whiteoak St. The mural was then painted by community members, student artists and some of Haring’s family members. Among Haring’s family members who were present and contributed to this mural were Haring’s father, Allen, his sister, Karen DeLong, and his great aunt.
To support the project, go to classy.org/campaign/keith-haring-fitness-court/c390777.
