Connecting the Cultures of Art and Women’s Football

The Art of the Game

Using art as a promotional tool creates a unique experience for the viewer. Art connects with people on a deeper level, so it was no mistake that American painter and muralist, Taylor White—whose work has been exhibited internationally and across the US—was asked to create a mural in Raleigh, North Carolina, promoting the 2019 Women’s International Champions Cup. The mural depicts key players and powerful athletes from the four teams that competed in the 2019 Women’s International Champions Cup: Manchester City’s Captain Steph Houghton, local NC Courage defender Abby Erceg, Olympique Lyonnais’ (2019 WICC Champions) defender Wendie Renard, and Amanda Sampedro Bustos, midfielder for Atletico de Madrid. 

“I have been pursuing art as a career essentially my whole life,” says White. She worked in traditional advertising for a few years out of college, but ended up moving to Melbourne, Australia, where she fell into street art. “The thing about muralism is, it’s quite a nice hybrid of something that you can make a living off. There is a freedom for self-expression and that’s a little more exciting than traditional academic painting.” 

The Women’s International Champions Cup Mural was meant to be a promotional spot for the tournament, which was held in Carey, a suburb of Raleigh, at the recreational park where the NC Courage play. Choosing a high traffic area like the Morgan Street Food Hall was the ideal setting for people to admire her work. Due to a limited timeframe, White came up with the approach to design the mural in a more graphic stylized way.

“This mural has taken on a life of its own in a way that I didn’t expect. What started out as an advertisement that was only supposed to be up for three months, turned into something that people really became emotionally attached to. It was an opportunity to lift women’s soccer, get people excited—it was a pathway that girls who are athletically inclined can follow.” 

Connecting with Purpose

This mural serves the same purpose that an advertisement would, and yet, it feels like there is a kinship to it. “It is something that I think is an important aspect of public art, and I think it’s a good idea to continue to embrace it as we get more interested in different ways to promote things. A lot of it has to do with the way people responded and the way people felt, where they thanked me for painting it. You don’t thank a guy for pasting on a billboard,” says White. 

The community’s interpretation and response to a piece gives the piece the life and the subject matter becomes part of the collective consciousness of a community. “As an artist, putting your effort into different types of representation is a way to honor the culture being represented. It’s important, it’s empowering, and it’s spiritually uplifting.” 

There has always been something unique about women’s soccer and art. And when athletic tournaments partner with artists, it is an extraordinary way to connect the two cultures. “You get people who are into sports, who may not appreciate art as much, and you get people who, like me, are into art and may not appreciate sports as much, until you have the merging of the two and then you’re like, wow, this is actually a really important thing, and I should pay closer attention to it."