PLAY (B)ALL is a public art proposal developed by Arise Architects Co-operative as part of the Cowan Recreation Complex Public Art Competition in Kitchener, Ontario. Selected as one of four shortlisted proposals from approximately sixty submissions, the project was created by The Home Team—a collaboration of local artists, architects, storytellers, and designers working across disciplines to explore the relationship between play, public space, and community.

Rather than representing sport through a commemorative sculpture, PLAY (B)ALL proposes play itself as the artistic medium. The project reimagines the recreation complex's two primary entrances as a pair of interconnected sculptural environments that encourage curiosity, movement, and informal social interaction.

The installation begins with a familiar image: oversized sports balls that gradually transform into inhabitable forms. As the recognizable objects unfold and merge, they create spaces that invite people to sit, climb, gather, rest, and explore. Positioned in dialogue across the site, the two installations establish a visual and spatial relationship that is reinforced by the building's circulation, sightlines, and architecture, becoming part of the experience of arriving at and moving through the recreation complex.

Interactive storytelling forms an integral part of the proposal. Fragments of memories about sport and play—collected from members of the Kitchener community—would be embedded throughout the sculptural surfaces, creating a shared archive of experiences that visitors discover as they move through the installation. Rather than presenting a single narrative, the artwork brings together many individual voices, reflecting the diverse ways that recreation, play, and public space contribute to community life.

Materially, PLAY (B)ALL combines vibrant colour, mirrored stainless steel, and translucent elements to create an environment that changes with light, weather, and human activity. Reflective surfaces encourage playful interaction, while the composition of forms transforms everyday movement through the site into a participatory experience. The project was developed in collaboration with Park N Play Design to ensure that the sculptural installations could safely support public interaction while meeting long-term durability and maintenance requirements.

At its core, PLAY (B)ALL explores play as a civic act. It asks how public art can create opportunities for chance encounters, shared experiences, and everyday rituals that strengthen social connections. By transforming thresholds into places of gathering and discovery, the proposal imagines public art not as an object to observe, but as social infrastructure that encourages curiosity, interaction, and belonging.