Who is Lucinda Hinojos? NFL commissions first-ever Chicana Native American artist for Super Bowl LVII
GLENDALE, ARIZONA: The NFL has partnered with artist Lucinda Hinojos. She is the first Chicana, Native American artist to work with the league on Super Bowl theme art. Her work has already been featured in the Super Bowl tickets for the game between Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in Glendale held on Sunday, February 12. The vibrant and energetic quality Hinojos' paintings convey is what finally inspired the cooperation, according to Marissa Solis, senior vice president of global brand and consumer marketing for the NFL.
“Her unique approach to color and design makes her the perfect artist to bring to life the themes of celebration, unity, local culture, and football in our Super Bowl LVII theme art,” Solis said. Hinojos claims her childhood was filled with sports before she became fully immersed in the art world, so her collaboration with the NFL seemed like a perfect fit. "Since the age of 6, I've played soccer," she said. "I also played competitively growing up and in college." Now a mom of three, Hinojos’s life still revolves around athletics—she has two sons who play football and a daughter who's taken after her. “So, I’m a soccer mom,” she added, according to wellandgood.com
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This most recent endeavor gives her yet another opportunity to incorporate intensely private issues into her work, which is what initially attracted the NFL to Hinojos. "She infuses meaning from her Native American and Mexican heritage into the imagery and symbolism she uses in her work,” Solis says. “Six months ago the NFL reached out regarding a project. I sent my proposal in and within days I was selected,” Hinojos wrote in an Instagram post she shared. “I cried as I got the call. I was overwhelmed with emotions and (saw) a quick glimpse of all the hard work I have done to get here.” Lucinda designed the artwork that is featured on the official SuperBowlLVII ticket, and it included motifs that are important to both Indigenous culture and Arizonan history.
Who is Lucinda Hinojos?
Visual artist and cultural activist Lucinda Hinojos, widely known by her stage name La Morena, uses her art to highlight her Native American and Mexican heritage as well as her activism. Her murals emphasize the influence of family, culture, and contemporary political challenges. They also highlight the healing and wisdom of her ancestors. She has painted murals all across the US and abroad and has been showcased in galleries and museums. She was just personally invited to paint in Marseille, France, by the US Embassy in France. Lucinda established "Colors of La Comunidad" in 2018 as an incubator for "artivismo," which allows artists to express their activism via their work.
Integrating heritage into artwork for NFL
Hinojos, popularly known as "La Morena," was born and brought up in Phoenix, and she and her family have deep roots in the state of Arizona. She personifies the character and past of the city. She uses her distinctive identity and background as a Chicana, Native American artist with roots in Mexico and the Pascua Yaqui, Chiricahua Apache, White Mountain Apache, and Pima (Akimel O'odham) Tribes to create a complex, symbolic work of art that the NFL will proudly display throughout Super Bowl LVII, as per tejanonation.com.
“I create art to hopefully provide an element of healing, unity, and real human connection, so with this Super Bowl piece, I hope people from all over the world can have a dialogue about what this painting means to them …and that’s what’s beautiful to me,” said Hinojos. “I’ve always thought that the Super Bowl ticket is the centerpiece of this hallmark event, and for me, as the first brown Indigenous woman to design the ticket’s artwork, it is amazing and something I’m very proud of.”
Another component of Hinojos' partnership with the NFL is a 9,500-square-foot mural (the largest in Super Bowl history) she will paint in association with fellow Native Americans Randy Barton of Diné/Navajo descent, Anitra "Yukue" Molina of Yaqui descent, and Carrie "CC" Curley of the San Carlos Apache descent, as well as Indige Design Collab of Cahokia Socialtech and Artspace, the Indigenous-led platform for creative peacekeeping. The mural was painted at the Monarch Theatre and emphasizes the story of community and unity while serving as a symbol of Indigenous collaboration. It will include significant contributions that reflect each artist's unique history, such as an Apache Woman and a Diné/Navajo rug pattern.
Wilson, an NFL partner, and Hinojos are working together to create a football design. The history of Lucinda's own artistic development and how significant her heritage and community are to her served as inspiration for the ball. Both at Super Bowl Experience at the Phoenix Convention Center and on Wilson.com, the ball will be for sale.