In Her Own Words: Shade Pratt

Shade Pratt painted this mural in her hometown of Minneapolis following George Floyd’s death in the city weeks prior. Maryland Athletics caught up with Shade to get the story behind the genesis of the mural, her experience in Minneapolis in June and the power of platform.

Q: Have you always been artistic? When did that passion begin? 

A: Yes, I was always artistic as a kid. I was always designing and drawing stuff with my brother. We would find ourselves gathering up random items, like dominos and marbles, and creating crazy things. As a kid, I always drew a little bit better than the average stick figure and art was something I absolutely loved. It was always one of my favorite classes in middle school and high school. When it came to college, I randomly took ART100 at Maryland, and after taking that class I was like, “Oh wait, I have to keep this up because this is actually what I like to do.”

Q: How did you balance art and soccer as a student-athlete and professional?  

A: When I attended Maryland, I created my own major and put together the classes I wanted to take to fit my desired curriculum, so that was quite helpful. It was also helpful because I had access to the art studios. Sometimes I was there until 9 p.m., I loved being there, I loved working, to the point I would forget to eat. At times I felt like I was living in the studios. 

When I turned professional and started traveling abroad for soccer that's when it fell off. I was focused more on my sport and did little projects here and there, digitally but that was really it. I always had a website (shadepratt.com) since 2015, it’s just always been private because I’ve always been apprehensive about showing my work. Stepping outside my comfort zone is one thing I always try and push for myself and when I came back to the U.S., I was rejuvenated and found my style, and realized, “I can be a full-time artist.” And that’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

Q: What inspires you artistically? What drives you to want to create?

A: I truly enjoy telling stories with my art. When people view my work I hope they take something  away from it. My pieces tend to be very illustrative and I enjoy playing with bold colors and abstract shapes. I want to evoke a story and what it means to you, is what it means.

Q: How did this opportunity to paint your first mural - “Caution: Black Child at Play” come to be? Where did the concept for this mural come from? Was this an idea you had been thinking of and sketching out for a while or was it a more spontaneous idea/creation?

A: At the time I’d never done a mural. I had just gotten back from Portugal because COVID ended our soccer season early. I’d been quarantining for two weeks, and then Day 15 --  it’s literally time to protest. I’m out in the streets and maybe three days into protesting I get a text from my friend which reads, “Hey, you’re the only artistic person I know, but would you wanna paint a mural?”… someone I didn’t know came across an opportunity and it had gotten back to me. So when my friend texted me I replied, “Oh, why not!” I was excited and came up with an idea and a concept. I tend to sketch out my ideas before execution because I’m a planner. So, the next day we worked for a few hours. I ended up hating it. We came back out the next day and white-washed it and redid it.

For me, protesting gets not only physically exhausting to march but emotionally exhausting as well. At the time, what I was seeing from the protests, social media, news outlets and even thinking about my own experiences of growing up in America, started to weigh on me. I decided to use my art as my voice instead. 

The concept just came out: Black children are often faced with enduring many challenges growing up in America. And something so simple as ‘dreaming’ seems to become a luxury. Every single child should be able to freely experience the joys of childhood and it should never be stolen based on the color of one’s skin. Kids deserve protection and encouragement to grow up and be whatever their hearts desire.

Q: Describe what you witnessed in your community of Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd. Just based on your Instagram, you were out in the community marching and  protesting … what were the lasting memories of those few weeks? 

A: It was truly nice to see everyone from all walks of life coming together. Just to see the care, the community and people teaching their kids. It's just amazing to go to George Floyd's memorial and to see people bringing their kids to educate and teach them about what time they are in.

Q: You’ve been commissioned for a number of different pieces in a similar style to “Caution: Black Child at Play.” What has been the response from the community, your friends, family etc. over these past few months? 

A: Everyone’s saying to me, “You draw? You paint?” I’m thinking, wow I really don’t show my work, because I’ve literally been doing this since I was child. As an artist you’re told you have to find your artistic style and this could take years to find. For me it was the unjust murder of a man that propelled me to find my style, by using my art to communicate my feelings. Everyone responded positively to the mural, I enjoyed doing it and I kept going and have been developing the style and seeing where it goes and how far I can take it. The response is great and with each new project I get more positive feedback.

Q: Why is it important for athletes, particularly student-athletes, to use their voices and platforms to center the fight for racial justice and affect change?

A: You have no idea who looks up to you as an athlete. It doesn’t matter who you are, you wear the badge of your school or club and people look up to you. Someone out there wants to be you. You’re a role model. Everyone has a voice and a unique way of using it. You don't necessarily need to be on the street protesting if you don’t feel comfortable, but maybe if you sign every petition available and encourage others to do the same then that’s a way to spread awareness. Using your voice in a meaningful way can mean anything. If you’re an artist bring awareness through drawing. If you’re a musician, sing. Whatever your talent may be and whatever you feel comfortable doing there’s always a way to make an impact even if it’s small. And that makes all the difference. 

Everyone has something to give and I think it doesn’t matter how you do it, someone’s going to respond to it, so it's highly important even if it's just that one person.