Learn about the artists assisting NHL teams in engaging with South Asian fans

May 30, 2024

“THIS IS A CITY FOR THEM”

As NHL teams look to better connect with their fanbases, four South Asian creators show how art can build community, bridges, and belonging

By Sonny Sachdeva

Z
oe Harveen Kaur Sihota still remembers the lights, the glowing beams falling from the roof of the Scotiabank Saddledome, illuminating her path as she walked out onto the ice, past the Calgary Flames’ bench, and took her place at the centre of the arena. She wore a yellow Flames practice jersey, emblazoned with ‘SIHOTA’ on the back, and stitched to its front, in a flourishing blossom of colours and patterns, was the design she had poured weeks into: an intricate iteration of the Flames’ signature ‘C’ paying homage to her city’s South Asian community. But thinking back on that late-March night now — when her design permeated every screen and surface in the rink as the Flames hosted their first South Asian Celebration Game — it’s not her own spotlight moment that comes to mind first, says Sihota. It’s the young South Asian fans she passed amid the crowd on the Saddledome’s concourse, it’s the looks on their faces.

“What stood out to me were the kids. A lot of young kids seeing this, and understanding that this is a city for them,” Sihota remembers. “They don’t have to look a certain way, or do a certain job, or talk a certain way. They can do anything in this city. They belong in this city.”

She remembers the parents, too, and the aunts, uncles, and grandparents. “It was incredible. The Calgary Flames marketing director told me that it was the first game in a really long time where the stadium was actually full. … Full of families,” she says. “It was beautiful to see everybody come together. Not only South Asians, but also just Calgarians, coming to the game wanting to see the celebration night.”

Up the road in Edmonton, Sunny Nerval had his own centre-stage memory made a week prior, standing under the Rogers Place lights during the Oilers’ South Asian Celebration Night, taking in the moment with the design he helped create all around him. Thirteen hundred kilometres east, in Winnipeg, Charmi Sheth shared a similar experience, too, sitting among the Canada Life Centre faithful encircled by her artwork, the Jets’ South Asian Heritage Night just the second hockey game she’d ever witnessed. And out west, in Vancouver, Jessie Sohpaul also had a turn in the spotlight, his creation continuing what’s become a beloved tradition of adorning the Canucks’ logo in Diwali-inspired splendour.

Still, as unforgettable as each of those nights at the rink were, it was what happened when these artists saw their work move beyond the arena walls that it all became truly surreal.

“I was in Los Angeles, and I was wearing the jersey,” Sohpaul remembers. “I was on Fairfax, where there’s a lot of streetwear, and I was stopped three or four times, by people who had no idea what the Canucks are, or what hockey is. I was getting so much love for the jersey. It was cool to see it transcending just the sport, as more of a fashion piece — that’s what I set out to do. I was taking a lot of inspiration from how basketball influences culture and fashion. Hockey doesn’t really do that.

“So, I thought, how do we create a jersey that does that, where it resonates with non-sports fans, non-hockey fans?”

“They don’t have to look a certain way, or do a certain job, or talk a certain way. They can do anything in this city. They belong in this city.”

It’s a question all four artists — Sihota, Nerval, Sheth, and Sohpaul — found themselves asking as they embarked on their journeys to create something for their communities, their work part of a steadily growing effort by NHL teams to better connect with their fanbases. For South Asian hockey fans, this season was a momentous one on that front, as the league’s four Western Canadian clubs each paid homage to the South Asian community — a small gesture that granted many a chance to finally see themselves in the game they love, and a reminder of the ways in which art can serve as a bridge between the sport and communities that have long been underrepresented within it.

“I could hear my heart beating,” Sheth says, thinking back to that night at the rink in Winnipeg, just a few years after she’d moved to the city from India, when she got the chance to help tie her old home to her new one. “I still remember that.”

Charmi Sheth wears the Jets jersey she designed, alongside former True North Sports creative director, Josh Dudych.

F
or as long as she can remember, Sihota has been creating art. But it’s over the past seven years that she began focusing on carving out a path as an artist, focusing primarily on digital art — that shift to a life that centres her creativity was prompted by the feeling that she wasn’t seeing herself, her culture, or her beliefs in the artwork she came across. It was through her design work that Sihota first met Raghav, a Calgary-based singer who also serves as the Flames’ South Asian Community Ambassador. And it was Raghav who brought her the opportunity to create something for her hometown team.

“My dad always took me to hockey games when I was younger. So, to have this opportunity… it was really incredible to be able to represent Calgarians,” Sihota says. “To be able to look at this piece and feel a sense of pride to be from Calgary, but also to be South Asian and living in the city.

“I just wanted to create something that empowered South Asians. I hope that when they look at this piece, they feel like, ‘Wow, I’m actually seen and heard, and my city understands me.’”

Sohpaul’s creations are well-known in Vancouver, and among the South Asian community beyond British Columbia, too. The multidisciplinary artist’s work draws on many South Asian motifs and themes, brought to life through painting and drawing, with plenty of digital influence as well, he says.

It was through his established presence out west that the opportunity to merge this approach with his Canucks fandom — to create something for the team that sparked this rise of South Asian celebrations throughout the league — arrived at Sohpaul’s door.

“The project came through, I guess, a lot of word of mouth,” he says. “I wasn’t the first one to do it for the Canucks. The previous artists, and people in the community, like Randip (Janda) and Gurpreet (Sian), put my name out there to the Canucks.”

When that call came, he was taken back to his younger days, out on the asphalt mimicking the Vancouver greats.

“I watched a lot in high school, in elementary school — I was a big fan,” Sohpaul says. “It was really the only sport I followed. I loved it. Me and my friends would watch together, we’d play a lot of street hockey, blocking off the street to play. And once it was dark, we’d just go on our Xbox and play again.”

In Edmonton, Nerval’s earliest memories of the sport felt much the same. “I’ve been, playing hockey since I was a kid,” he says. “Like most Indian kids, ice hockey was out of the question, so I played street hockey, ball hockey, for most of my life.”

His opportunity to create something for his hometown club didn’t come as the others did, though — it was borne of his own determination. After seeing the Diwali celebrations held by the Canucks in recent years, and the incredible response from South Asian fans across the country, Nerval and a group of friends reached out to the Oilers with an offer to help plan a similar celebration for Edmonton.

A couple years later, the project was getting off the ground, and the Oilers were asking for a South Asian-inspired logo of their own. “Myself, I wouldn’t say I’m like the other designers — I’m not an artist full-time, but I like to draw every now and then,” Nerval says. To bring his ideas to life, he turned to friend and coworker JC Lutao, who could bring some graphic design expertise to the table.

For Sheth, in Winnipeg, it was exactly the opposite. An innate understanding of design was already in her blood — it was the hockey side she had to figure out how to navigate.

“My dad is a graphic designer,” Sheth says. And it was with him, back home in India, that she first learned how to make magic with tones and textures, before the love of the craft eventually took hold of her too. “I love painting and making different art forms. I’ve done a lot of canvas paintings, sketching … I also used to do henna designs for brides. It’s a tradition in India — when they have weddings or other events, they put henna on their hands.”

It was through near happenstance that Sheth found herself creating a piece of work that would become part of the Jets’ history. The young designer had reached out to True North Sports about a different position after finishing up her studies in the city, only to wind up with an offer to lead the creation of the artwork that would be the focal point of Winnipeg’s own South Asian Heritage Night, along with the club’s own creative team and Waseem Shaikh, creative director of multicultural marketing firm Ethnicity Matters.

“It was really cool — to design something that was going to represent where I come from, I was super excited,” she remembers. But there were some nerves, too. “It was on a national level — that was something that I had never done before in my career.”

What sold her on the opportunity in the end, though, was what she saw the first time she sat in the stands of Canada Life Centre, enthralled by the creativity of the pre-game festivities.

“It was confusing, because I didn’t know anything about the rules,” she says of the actual game that followed, with a laugh. “But the graphics, it was so cool the way they displayed the motion graphics on the ice. There was music [synced] to what was playing on the ice, other graphics playing constantly. I’ve never seen anything like that before. In India, there’s no snow where I lived, so this game is completely new to me.”

Sunny Nerval, second from left, during the Oilers’ South Asian Celebration Night festivities.

W
hen it came to designing her take on the Flames’ iconic logo, Sihota began with a figure synonymous with many South Asian cultures: the peacock.

“It signifies beauty, grace, and elegance across South Asian heritage. So that was really important to incorporate,” she says. “But I think the most exciting part was the patterns, which hold a lot of cultural significance for storytelling within a lot of different South Asian communities. These patterns represent a line of heritage and beauty and unity that I wanted to show — that, you know, South Asian communities are intertwined with one another, even though we all have our unique perspectives and representation.”

“On the top of the ‘C,’ I really wanted to include South Asian architecture, because I think it is so important in South Asian countries. They hold historic influence and they represent the rich heritage of South Asian countries, and I wanted to showcase that because it’s so specific to South Asian communities,” Sihota continues. “I chose four different colours that were really important, within South Asian culture, that I really wanted to highlight — maroon, saffron, green and red.

“Maroon being the colour of strength and resilience. Saffron being the colour of bravery, courage, and sacrifice, which is really important, especially for a lot of immigrant families that come to Calgary. I wanted to showcase something that represented them and their courage to come to a new country. Green, which is forever linked to the industry of agriculture — I’m Punjabi, so agriculture is something that’s really important in our community, and of course it symbolizes growth. And then red is the symbol of power, prosperity, and good luck.

“And I obviously had to include red because it’s the soul of what it means to be a Calgary Flame.”

Sohpaul’s design similarly drew from the peacock’s significance within South Asian imagery, but he chose to take his piece in a different direction, with the Canucks’ night focused specifically on the Indian festival of Diwali.

“For me, it was a challenge of figuring out, how do you make Diwali represent South Asian themes, South Asian culture, the Punjabi diaspora, but also have this sort of inspiring, aggressive, sports-like feel to it, you know?” Sohpaul says. “How do we fuse the peacock with some of the themes that you’ll see in the phoenix? Because a phoenix represents, indirectly, a lot of Diwali elements — the idea of rebirth, of light over dark.”

“Trying to incorporate all of South Asia into one night isn’t an easy task, right?”

“The peacock is made with, reds, yellows, and golds, that’s where the phoenix influence comes in,” Sohpaul continues. “It’s built with paisleys. You see paisleys across fabrics, textiles, especially in North India, but the paisley transcends India. It has so much influence across other countries, and that’s what I wanted to have in the design in itself, was this sort of resonance with other cultures.

“Because Diwali doesn’t just apply to the South Asian diaspora, it’s everyone’s. Light over dark, good over evil — that’s a theme that anyone can resonate with. So, the design had to speak to a wider audience, just like the themes of Diwali.”

Nerval arrived at the idea of the peacock during his design process as well, though that landing spot came more from a desire to avoid other South Asian tropes.

“Trying to incorporate all of South Asia into one night isn’t an easy task, right? There are so many countries, religions, cultures across South Asia,” Nerval says. “When it came to the logo, we were either looking at using architecture or animals as a starting point, just because across South Asia, whether you go to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the architecture is very similar across all those places.

“We made a couple of designs using the architecture and then we switched over to the animals. When you think of South Asia, a lot of people think of lions, elephants, tigers. But playing ball hockey growing up, any South Asian team would typically have a lion or tiger in their logo, so to me it seemed a little bit played out.”

At the core of the design, Nerval and Lutao felt it important to preserve the visual history of the Albertan club.

“The colours of the peacock are the Oilers’ original orange and blue. We tried to make sure that we didn’t take away from the Oilers logo — we wanted to make sure that when people saw the logo, they knew it was still for the Edmonton Oilers,” Nerval says. “We decided to wrap the peacock around the Oilers logo — the five feathers represent the five Stanley Cups the Oilers have won.”

Sheth’s design, the first of the four to be released, called on a different history, her piece grounded in memories of home. Working alongside Shaikh and Josh Dudych, True North Sports’ creative director at the time, Sheth began by experimenting with a number of different potential styles to see what the rest of the team took to most.

“The response was magical. It was so positive, it overwhelmed me. I just didn’t know what to say. I was so happy that people felt a sense of belonging.”

“I collected different art forms, because there are so many cultures, so many art forms. Eventually, what they liked most were henna patterns, and bandhani,” Sheth says, the former referring to the elaborate patterns dyed on brides’ hands before Indian weddings, the latter to those found on textiles throughout India. Most importantly, though, Sheth and her team decided to focus their design on a rangoli.

“Rangoli is something that we do in front of our homes, near the door — it’s something that we do to welcome the goddess of wealth. That is called ‘rangoli,’” Sheth says. “I made a logo that looked something like that, and I incorporated the designs of henna and bandhani into it.

“It was something I’ve seen for so many years. I was used to making these designs from when I used to work in India, putting henna on brides’ hands. That’s how I came across this idea.”

Sohpaul wearing the Canucks Diwali Night jersey he designed.

T
hough each of the four artists took different paths to arrive at their final creation, the experiences that followed the process were similar — the nervy joy that came from seeing their design brought to life, brought off the page and stitched onto an NHL jersey.

“It was mind-blowing,” Sheth says of the moment she first held in her hands a Jets jersey adorned with her artwork. “Like, I cannot express in words how happy I was to see it. It was amazing.”

“It honestly didn’t really feel real until I saw the jersey,” Sihota says of her own experience in Calgary. “When I sent off the logo, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s really cool, I just did that.’ But seeing the jersey in person, it was breathtaking. I didn’t even know what to say. My jaw dropped.”

“I just loved the design, the quality, the texture of the fabric” Sohpaul says from Vancouver. “The stitching was perfectly executed. So, it was really exciting.”

“Me and my buddy were talking about how we made this happen — you know, we never thought we’d ever get the opportunity to do something like this,” Nerval says. “My family’s done a lot of community work and I’ve helped out with that, but I’ve never really done something myself, that I kind of started, from start to finish — with the help of friends, obviously.”

“Seeing all the colours come through so vibrantly and so beautifully — it was just such a proud moment for me,” Sihota continues. “But I wasn’t really thinking about myself. I was more so thinking about my family and how proud they would be. And how lucky I am to come from an immigrant household, and then to be able to do something like this.”

Then came another surreal moment — seeing their designs released to the public, to the fans. And being enveloped by the wave of reaction that followed.

“When they first announced the logo on social, I was a little bit hesitant, because people on social media can be so critical … I was so worried that people wouldn’t get it or they wouldn’t feel represented in the way that I wanted,” Sihota says. “But the response was, like, magical. It was so positive, it overwhelmed me. I just didn’t know what to say.

“I was so happy that people felt a sense of belonging.”

“The design, once it’s out there, it has its own life,” says Sohpaul. “And just seeing where it’s been has been cool. You know, Jazzy B wore it in his music video, I’ve seen a lot of people wear it at the celebrations in Surrey. … One of my friends, he’s a season ticket holder. He goes to a lot of games, and he wears the Diwali jersey I designed. And just hearing all the compliments and the spotlight he gets when he goes to the game, everyone asking where he got it, what it was for — it’s exciting.”

“I remember when I shared the pictures with my family, they were so happy,” says Sheth, in Winnipeg. “My parents were so proud. They shared it with everyone, like every relative on Instagram, on Facebook, on WhatsApp. They shared it everywhere, and they were really proud.

“My mom had tears, she was so happy. I think when I saw my parents this proud, that was the best feeling for me.”

“If you like hockey, you can have a conversation about that with almost anybody in this country. It goes past just the game itself.”

For those outside of the community, those who don’t see these messages, these tears — and all the others that have circulated among South Asian communities in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, and beyond, the projects might seem trivial. But the effort isn’t lost on those it was intended to reach. For those large swaths of fans who’ve long felt like outsiders in the game — on the ice, off the ice, in its marketing, in its storytelling — a gesture as simple as a familiar logo, a celebration night, an invitation to be part of something, can mean the world.

“These kinds of games really bring the community together, you know?” says Nerval. “My parents immigrated here, like a lot of Indian families, but at the end of the day, we’re all fans of the game. It doesn’t matter where you are — in Edmonton, Calgary, in Alberta, or across Canada — it doesn’t matter where you’re from, what colour your skin is, or anything like that. If you like hockey, you can have a conversation about that with almost anybody in this country. It goes past just the game itself.”

“Definitely representation is always great,” adds Sohpaul. “If you look at any of the games, especially the Canucks games, it was a huge Punjabi, South Asian audience. Now, they’re being seen by the team. And I think that’s really important. I think it’s necessary.”

“Taking those strides towards becoming a lot more diverse and representative is really important, not only because Calgary’s growing and in Canada we celebrate diversity, but just to have more communities represented and seen — and to showcase to the city that sports aren’t just about sports,” says Sihota. “It’s about bringing the community together, doing something together. You can be from any background to appreciate this sport. And also, just bringing the city together, allowing artists like myself to have this platform is really important to educate Calgarians about diverse communities and different perspectives.

“I hope that this will allow people to feel more connected to the city, and more connected to the NHL.”

For some, it already has. Not only because of the teams’ efforts to bridge a gap, but because of the love and care poured into these pieces of art — the hope of instilling in something as simple as a hockey team’s logo the memories of something greater.

“I designed the logo in a way that it was related to something that’s always, always [positive],” explains Sheth of her rangoli-focused Jets creation. “We decorate like that only on special events, when it’s a most-celebrated festival, like Diwali.

“So, you see the logo, and it reminds you of the good times, celebrated in your own country.”

“I hope that this will allow people to feel more connected to the city, and more connected to the NHL.”

It’s that hope for meaningful connection, for finding a way to use sport to tap into some larger sense of community, that’s stayed with Nerval.

Looking back on the experience now, on all that came from it, the first thing he speaks of isn’t the praise for his work, or the chance to be a small part of his hometown team’s history. It’s the fact that he was able to help open a door, and bring people in. That through his efforts he was able to plant a seed — like the ones planted in other cities across Western Canada — and that hopefully, over time, new love for the game will bloom throughout his community, like flowers of maroon, saffron, green, and red.

“The biggest thing out of everything, that has stood out the most, was that a lot of people, when they saw the logo and heard about the night, they went out of their way to come to an Oilers game. For a lot of people, that South Asian game was their first hockey game,” Nerval says. “My cousins, my grandpa, you know, they’ve never been to a hockey game before — they made sure that they got tickets to come see that night. And it was really cool, just to be in Rogers Place, hearing Punjabi music playing throughout the arena, seeing all the performances.

“It was something you never thought would happen in that arena, you know? But it did.”

Photo Credits

Courtesy of the Calgary Flames; Courtesy of Charmi Sheth; Courtesy of the Calgary Flames; Courtesy of the Vancouver Canucks; Courtesy of the Edmonton Oilers; Courtesy of the Winnipeg Jets; Courtesy of the Vancouver Canucks.

The National Hockey League (NHL) has been making strides in recent years to engage with fans from diverse backgrounds, including South Asian communities. One way they are doing this is by enlisting the help of artists who understand the culture and can create content that resonates with South Asian fans.

These artists are not only creating visually appealing designs and artwork, but they are also helping NHL teams develop marketing strategies that cater to the interests and preferences of South Asian fans. By incorporating elements of South Asian culture into their promotions and outreach efforts, NHL teams are able to connect with a wider audience and foster a sense of inclusivity within the hockey community.

One such artist who has been instrumental in this effort is Anjali Bhargava, a graphic designer and illustrator based in Toronto. Bhargava has worked with several NHL teams to create custom artwork that celebrates South Asian heritage and showcases the diversity of hockey fans. Her designs often feature vibrant colors, intricate patterns, and traditional motifs that resonate with South Asian audiences.

In addition to creating artwork, artists like Bhargava also collaborate with NHL teams on community events and initiatives that aim to engage South Asian fans. These events may include cultural celebrations, meet-and-greets with players of South Asian descent, and partnerships with local organizations that serve the South Asian community.

By working closely with artists who understand the nuances of South Asian culture, NHL teams are able to create authentic and meaningful connections with fans from diverse backgrounds. This not only helps to grow the sport of hockey within the South Asian community but also fosters a sense of belonging and inclusivity for all fans, regardless of their cultural background.

In conclusion, the artists assisting NHL teams in engaging with South Asian fans play a crucial role in creating a more diverse and inclusive hockey community. Their creative talents and cultural insights help NHL teams connect with fans on a deeper level and foster a sense of unity within the sport. As the NHL continues to prioritize diversity and inclusion, these artists will undoubtedly play a key role in shaping the future of hockey fandom.