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| CHARLOTTE FC |
| Kalin Devone, a 2015 UNC Charlotte graduate, didn’t set out to become an painter, but has grown into a sought-after artist by sports brands like Charlotte FC and Formula 1 in addition to self-curated exhibitions. |
Kalin Devone didn’t set out to become a painter.
The 2015 UNC Charlotte graduate was commissioned by Charlotte FC to create art for the Major League Soccer club’s Juneteenth match against DC United on June 15 to highlight Black success by engaging Black artists and celebrating their contributions to the city’s landscape. Devone’s work will be featured around Bank of America Stadium.
Devone, who is from Wilmington, credits a professor from her freshman year who believed in her painting skills, although as a 17-year-old, she didn’t recognize it until some time had passed.
“My teacher was like, ‘you’re a painter,’” Devone said, “and I was like ‘No, I’m not, I came here for illustration, what are you talking about?’ And then, I just stuck with it. That’s what I ended up doing.”
After graduation, Devone said she was timid to try art full-time after seeing friends succeed in their endeavors and making large sums of money. She painted intermittently and took on several corporate jobs such as working as an independent contractor for a law firm.
As time passed, Devone’s work gained recognition around the Charlotte area, leading her to Charlotte FC reaching out.
Devone has a plethora of experience working in professional sports, including the Charlotte Hornets among other local teams as well as Formula One and the PGA Tour.
Devone said the extensive efforts for artists and sports teams to collaborate is very important, as it was a recent occurrence for partnerships over the years.
“I think when I was first starting out, I didn’t really see much collaboration between sports teams and artists. It was two completely different worlds,” she said. “It seems now
like every celebration or holiday, they have artists come in, whether they’re Black artists or not.”
Early on, Devone said she had minimal access to opportunities like athletics for collaboration, as well as others in her discipline of Black descent. Supporting aspiring Black artists and their representation in all fields matters because role models are still needed.
“It matters because if they don’t see someone like them, how will they know they can do that too?” she said. “I think it’s a different kind of celebration when you see people who are like you in a place you didn’t think you would ever see them before.”
Devone emphasizes that common symbols she uses in her work are meant to be representative of herself and Black culture, such as handshakes to symbolize the unification of Black history, hearts to symbolize love and floral designs and stickers to represent youth and playfulness in the Charlotte FC Juneteenth piece.
As Devone’s work has become more sought after, she led her own exhibitions, bringing other women of color spotlight that have never gotten the opportunity to receive in their careers yet.
“I think it’s a good opportunity for them to get their foot in the water, an opportunity that wasn’t given to me, and I wanted to make sure that other women felt welcomed into this community,” she said.
Devone has also worked on brands outside of her comfort zone, including designing a basketball court for sports apparel giant Puma as well as painting a portrait for Hornets star LaMelo Ball’s lifestyle brand, the LaFrancé Collection. In addition, UNCC has selected her to organize her own exhibition on campus and give a career and art talk to students in August.
