EARTH COURT by Kindred Studio
Award:
2025 New York Architectural Design Awards — Silver Winner
Cultural Architecture: Interactive & Experiential Spaces
Role: Creative Consultant · Producer · Program Development
Focus: Concept development, cultural strategy, program production
Natashia Betancourt worked with Kindred Studio as a creative consultant and producer, collaborating closely alongside the founder on the development of EARTH COURT — an artist-led, community-rooted initiative that reimaginES basketball courts as sites of cultural expression, environmental reflection, and collective gathering.
Her role spans concept development, cultural strategy, and production, supporting the translation of early-stage ideas into coherent creative frameworks. Working directly with the founder, she helps steward the evolution of EARTH COURT as both a cultural project and an emerging public-facing initiative, ensuring that values of integrity, care, and community accountability remain central as the work grows.
The project’s first realized site, Earth Court: Case Study 001 (Sanctum), was recognized as a 2025 Silver Winner by the New York Architectural Design Awards in the category of Cultural Architecture – Interactive & Experiential Spaces, acknowledging the project’s innovative approach to public space, art, and embodied experience.
In parallel, Natashia produces Kindred Studio’s Day Trip program, an experiential series designed to deepen public engagement through site visits, dialogue, and embodied interaction with place. She supports the full lifecycle of the program — from concept development and planning through logistics and execution — ensuring each gathering aligns with Kindred Studio’s mission and long-term vision.
This collaboration is intentionally iterative and developmental, allowing EARTH COURT to grow organically while remaining grounded in artist-led practice and community-centered outcomes.