White Sox launch their Art Collective

In late March 2023, the Chicago White Sox announced the launch of “Sox Collective,” a collaboration between the team and select local artists, highlighting the impressive talent of Chicago’s visual arts community.

Sox Collective features local artists commissioned by the team for various projects for the organization. The collective includes creative works that “use the shared language of baseball to showcase the club’s storied history, rich ties to Chicago culture and connection to its diverse fan base.”

Chicago White Sox

Among the collective’s first efforts, The White Sox Summer T-Shirt Series returns to Guaranteed Rate Field this summer, curated by All-Star Press Chicago and featuring T-shirt designs by Sox Collective.

The yet-to-be-revealed T-shirt designs are among the collectives’ first collaborations with the team. Here are the featured elements of the promotion:

• Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Night will feature work created by Brian Nevado (@mrbeasy), on May 30 vs. the Los Angeles Angels

Nevado, a Chicago art director and graphic designer, has worked with brands like Nike, Midtronics, and Jugrnaut, as well as Hebru Brand Studios, Havas Chicago, and 8tiv Labs.

• Pride Night will feature work by Sandra Antongiorgi (@santongiorgi), on June 21 vs. Texas

Antongiorgi, a visual artist since the age of 15, known for her gifted use of paint, has contributed to scores of murals across the Chicago urban landscape. Her work has been exhibited at The National Museum of Mexican Art, Zhou B Gallery and most recently a solo exhibit at the Center on Halsted Gallery.

• Fourth of July will feature the work of Ariel Sinha (@arielsinhaha), vs. Toronto

Sinha, a self-taught UI designer and illustrator in Chicago, has worked with well known brands and names such as the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bears, The Atlantic, the 2020 Biden Campaign, The LA Times, The New Yorker, Sephora, Pandora, and Lucasfilms.

• African-American Heritage Night features art created by Delisha McKinney (@delisha___), on August 9 vs. the New York Yankees

McKinney, a self-taught artist living and working on the West Side, who is inspired by the comics of Bill Watterson and the late great Dr. Seuss, creates paintings and whimsical illustrations full of vibrant colors, textures and hidden meanings.

• Hispanic Heritage Month will feature work created by Danny Martinez (@vandamone), on September 13 vs. Kansas City

Martinez, an illustrator and designer born in the South Suburbs of Chicago, started out designing his favorite Disney characters in MS Paint before moving on to oils, and eventually digital. His work “blurs the line between realism, illustration, cartoons, comics, and absurdity to create a blend of tangible surrealism” to pull viewers in and “as a means of self-discovery.”

• August 22 vs. Seattle will feature a Summer T-Shirt design created by Cody Hudson (@struggle_inc).

Hudson is a Chicago-based artist, also known for his graphic design contributions under the name Struggle Inc. His paintings, sculpture, and graphic works have been exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Among the Sox Collective is artist Edo, who has collaborated with the White Sox on several occasions in recent years, contributing work celebrating Juneteenth in both 2020 and 2021.

WTTW News

Edo (Eddie Santana White) is a self-taught, multi-disciplinary artist, fashion, graphic, and industrial designer from the South Side. His style, which he calls Infinite Inception, is about discovery, truth, and inspiration.

“What I do is I take words, colors, objects, phrases and collage them together to tell a big story,” Edo says. “I typically use a lot of bright colors. I’m from Chicago. Sometimes the energy there is a bit gray. I want to create something that will offset the grayness, the levels of gray in Chicago. I need to be bright and I need to be welcoming and inviting with my work. My purpose with my art is to be able to inspire and bring joy to people. When you look at it I want you to feel good, you know? Smile and let your mind wonder.”

Rounding out Sox Collective is artist Joseph Perez, aka “Sentrock.”

sentrock.com

“Sentrock” is a self-taught street artist originally from Phoenix, now making his home in Chicago. His early works were developed from graffiti writing in Mexican-American neighborhoods. Sentrock’s signature bird-mask over a human figure has become his most recognizable declaration, a work the artist describes as analogous to humanity: A person who is able to find or escape to their freedom by placing them in a different reality.

Sentrock’s past collaborations include the Chicago Fire soccer team, Chicago Public Library Mural “Little Village Branch,” Farragut High School (CPS), Phoenix Collaborative mural, and murals for three SemiColon Book Store locations. His vibrant mural work can be seen across Chicago.

Mercedes Zapata, Block Club Chicago

White Sox have a long history of collaborating with local artists over the years. More recent collaborations include works by Edo for Juneteenth, and the Chicago in 2021 featuring Edo and fellow Chicago artists Murrz and Ascend.

WTTW News

WTTW News

Community involvement off the field is one of the few things the White Sox organization still does well. For as much disdain they show their loyal fans, it’s nice to know the team still gives back to the community. Sox Collective looks like a unique spotlight for burgeoning local artists, and despite the product on the field early in 2023, I am intrigued by and excited to see the works these artists have created.

More information on the Sox Collective and a look at the artists can be found at whitesox.com/soxcollective. For a complete list of exclusive giveaways and returning promotions, visit whitesox.com/promos.

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