We always think of sports and art as two opposite disciplines: sport involves bodily kinesthetics and art involves creativity. However, there are instances where the two do intersect, and these instances are worth celebrating. Sporting events give artists a chance to celebrate sports through art. Because of this, many sporting events have been known to bring out the best in art—specifically street art, which seeks to be the most inclusive of all art forms. Murals like Horsepower show how street art seeks to reflect show how street art seeks to reflect the current environment it’s in, which is why it’s a perfect art form for sporting events.
In this article, we are going to look at how sporting events have inspired murals in recent years.
Super Bowl LIII and WonderRoot – Atlanta, GA
Atlanta is known for its street art scene. When the city committed to host the Super Bowl LIII this year, Atlanta made sure its artistic culture would shine through amidst all the football.
To do this, the Super Bowl Host Committee partnered with WonderRoot, a local arts organization, in creating a citywide art exhibit called Off the Wall: Atlanta’s Civil Rights and Social Justice Journey. The movement brought together 10 artists to paint 30 murals around downtown Atlanta. The organization saw the national sporting event as an opportunity to “elevate and amplify Atlanta’s role in past, present, and future of civil rights, and social justice movements.” Most of the murals are related to civil rights movements, but more specifically to the humble strength of an often-marginalized community. This exhibit’s message is fitting since it seeks to show football fans that strength often comes in more forms than just being physical. All of the new murals are part of the city’s permanent public art collection.
2015 NBA Finals and Illuminaries – San Francisco, CA
The Bay Area is also known for its muralists, many of whom are Golden State Warriors fans. Street art muralists the Illuminaries used their talents to pay tribute to living legend Stephen Curry and his team. One of their most iconic murals came out when Curry was named 2014-2015 NBA MVP and the Warriors were playing in the finals that season. The mural has Curry with big block letters spelling out “Dubs” behind him, referring to the nickname given by GSW fans to the team and the fanbase as a whole (Dub Nation).
2018 FIFA World Cup and various artists – Russia
Last year’s World Cup inspired various artists to create exciting street art in preparation for the tournament. Most of the murals are dedicated to the beautiful game, and during the tournament fans could spot the world’s best players on the sides of buildings and on walls. Russia Beyond reports how the buildings around the Luzhniki Stadium were all covered in bright graffiti. This transformed the capital into a wonderful mish-mash of colors, and as a result soccer fans flooded social media with pictures of the murals. In Ladbrokes’ ‘World Cup Stadium Guide’, they detail how the Luzhniki Stadium was the destination for the opening game as well as the final. Being the tournament’s centerpiece, the beautiful street art around the Luzhniki Stadium helped add to the exciting atmosphere of this wonderful global event.
