The NFL taps Phoenix-based Chicana and Native American artist Lucinda Hinojos as the official marquee artist for the Big Game.
The NFL is known for making history with its games, athletes, crowds, and halftime shows. This year the Super Bowl is participating in a new kind of history making — Indigenous history making.
This is the first time a Native American artist has been tapped as the NFL’s “marquee artist.”
In January, it was announced that the artwork on the famous Super Bowl ticket would be designed by Chicana and Native American muralist Lucinda Hinojos. In addition to the tickets, Hinojos’ art will also appear on advertising, a Wilson football, and as a breathtaking 9,500-square-foot Super Bowl mural in downtown Phoenix, Hinojos’ hometown.
Hinojos, who is also called La Morena, is Mexican-American and Native American, with tribal roots including Pascua Yaqui, Chiricahua Apache, Pima, and White Mountain Apache. Known for her dazzling murals across Phoenix, she depicts Native American and Mexican heritage as well as topics such as immigration, Native rights, and heritage preservation in her work.
As the mother of a football player herself, Hinojos has always had an interest in sports. Ice hockey fans might recognize her artwork from a series of specialty baseball caps sold by the Arizona Coyotes as part of their Hat Trick Series. Her impressive portfolio of murals and clothing designs made her an optimal collaborator for the NFL. When a proposal and request for a submission came Hinojos’ way, she submitted some of her work and heard back almost immediately.
Since that moment, Hinojos’ designs have been displayed in all of their colorful glory on billboards, posters, tickets, and footballs. In broadcast advertising in the run-up to the Big Game, fans have been treated to visions of her beautiful mountains, cactuses, Azteca wildlife, Arizona wildlife, and signature hummingbird adorning the Lombardi Trophy.
The final immortalization of Hinojos’ work — the 9,500-square-foot mural — is in the works with the help of many Indigenous individuals and women-led organizations. Members of Cahokia Socialtech and Artspace’s Indige Design Collab are aiding with the mural’s creation, alongside artists Randy L. Barton (Navajo), Anitra Molina (Yaqui), and Carrie Curley (San Carlos Apache). The mural is being painted on the side of the Monarch Theatre in Hinojos’ Phoenix-area hometown of Glendale, the home base for this year’s Super Bowl.
The 57th Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, February 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. To see more of Lucinda Hinojos’ incredible artwork, you can check out her website and follow her on social media.
All images courtesy of the National Football League
