Travis Scott is looking to do his part in helping restore Virgil Abloh’s shuttered skatepark in Accra, Ghana.
Just two years after opening, the Freedom Skatepark — which was one of Virgil’s last projects before his death — is facing closure.
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New York-based designer Wole Olosunde took to Instagram over the weekend to spread awareness about the skatepark’s troubles as he showcased a cement wall and sand poured inside the park to prevent skaters from entering.
“The Irony of Freedom. Finally got to visit FREEDOM, the skate park Virgil Abloh built in Accra, Ghana. One of his last projects before he passed. I left heart broken and confused,” Olosunde wrote.
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“Cause why tf is no one talking about or fighting for this. Apparently another owner has showed up, stormed the park & built a cement wall then poured sand through the park to keep all skaters out.”
He continued: “It has been like this for almost a full year leaving these kids with nowhere to skate. To the point they built their own temporary skate park to be able to keep spreading the love of skating and building community.”
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The post found its way onto Travis Scott’s radar, prompting the rapper to voice his frustration with the news and offer to help save the skatepark.
“MANNN WHATT WHAT WE DOINNNNNGGGGGGGG LET ME KNOW WHAT WE GOTTA DO TO GET MY BROTHER PARK BACK GOING PLEASSSSSEEEEEEE,” he commented.
The Freedom Skatepark was billed as the first fully functional skatepark in the country. Next to it is a community center that reportedly offered kids free Wi-Fi, free masterclasses, and studio time for recording.
Kendrick Lamar previously paid a visit to the skatepark in his 2022 Spotify mini-documentary A Day in Ghana.
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“[I’ve been thinking about] Virgil, what he means to them as far as letting them have this creative space for them to enjoy themselves,” Lamar said of the park. “That’s special.”
Virgil Abloh passed away in November 2021 following a private battle with an aggressive form of cardiac angiosarcoma.
In November, André 3000 explained why he didn’t perform at the Off-White designer’s funeral after the family asked him to do so.
“When Virgil passed, his family asked would I play at the funeral and I denied it, but only because I felt like I would be a distraction,” he told NPR. “I don’t know, I just felt like it would have taken away from the moment and I only knew Virgil through texts and a few conversations. So I couldn’t pretend like I knew him that well.
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“I was honored that the family asked me to play at the funeral, but I couldn’t. And so when I told [flute maker] Guillermo, he was like, ‘Yeah, sometimes you have to look at it now as a responsibility to play. They asked you to play for a reason.’”
