Photo by Dan Tyree
Last week, Republic FC took part in the 2022 Sac Pride March and festival – the first public celebration for Pride put on by the Sacramento LGBT Center since 2019. Alongside Tower Bridge Battalion, the club led a group of fans and front office staff in the march through downtown, with a piece of artwork from a local artist as the group’s main attraction.
Local artist Shannan O’Rourke, who collaborated with the club in 2019 and 2020 on two other community art projects, took on the task of designing and creating the banner from start to finish. Featuring traditional pride symbols, alongside a notable piece of history, O’Rourke upped the ante by turning it into a live art piece created at the club’s match on June 4. The banner features the club’s crest incorporated into the colors of the Pride flag, with a brick wall in the background paying tribute to the stonewall riots of the 1960’s, the starting point of modern day celebrations of LGBTQ+ Pride.
“I took the most recent pride flag and broke it apart, so all of the colors were included, but also went off of Gilbert Baker’s first pride flag where every color means something different,” O’Rourke said of her design. “With the club’s crest split by all of the colors, it’s meant to open up shining and showing how the club represents pride and is an advocate for equality from the outside and the inside.”
The process of creating the banner out in the open for fans at Heart Health Park to see was unique for O’Rourke. Sharing the stage with the club’s matchday DJ, and getting to see the awe of the fans in the building as the piece progressed made for a one-of-a-kind environment. Of course, the excitement of the club’s pride celebration only added to the occasion.
“It made it a little more exciting,” she said. “Live art is always fun, because then you get the fans and people coming up to you. It’s just really engaging, and especially for kids, and people that want their kids to be artists.”
Walking the parade with the club also made for a unique experience, especially as she got the opportunity to showcase her work to a totally new audience of people. Sacramento’s supporters, and those who had gathered along the parade route gave those participating an environment as enthusiastic as any other.
“The climate of it kind of resonated as a game night with all the fans. It was all very positive.”
O’Rourke’s banner continues the club’s collaborations with local artists for a multitude of community endeavors. In 2019, the club put on a “Paint the Park” event, displaying team-inspired work from local artists around the stadium at a match. In each of the last two years, Heart Health Park served as the main venue for “Boards for Change,” an art gallery and auction benefitting organizations that support black youth. O’Rourke was involved with all three – creating a one-of-a-kind piece for each event.
Republic FC will continue its celebration of pride month throughout June, donating to local and national organizations to assist in their continued push for equality. 15% of proceeds from sales of the new Pride Merchandise collection, available now at Shop.SacRepublicFC.com, will benefit the Sacramento LGBT Center. In addition, throughout the month the club has joined a list of others throughout USL donating to Athlete Ally for statistics accumulated on the pitch.
