Queen Tahj working on the Super Bowl logo in her studio. The New Orleans artist is known for her intricate, hand-sewn beadwork. | Courtesy NFL

 

THE OFFICIAL ART of Super Bowl LIX is hand-crafted with beadwork. For the first time, the National Football League (NFL) commissioned an artist outside of the organization to create its Super Bowl logo and theme art. When the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs face off in New Orleans today, the occasion will be commemorated with the work of Tahj Williams. The artist, who goes by “Queen Tahj,” is a celebrated member of New Orleans Black Masking Indians.

Much more than a championship football game, the Super Bowl is one of America’s largest cultural and entertainment platforms, reaching broad and diverse audiences across the globe. Queen Tahj, 26, is bringing the traditions of Black Masking Indians and the local history and spirit of New Orleans into this massive spotlight.

“We knew from the start that we wanted this year’s theme art to capture the essence of New Orleans,” Marissa Solis, NFL senior vice president of global brand and consumer marketing, said in a statement. “Queen Tahj’s deep connection to her community and extraordinary talent made her the perfect artist for this project. Her work authentically honors the cultural roots of New Orleans while celebrating the city’s vibrant spirit, and we’re excited to spotlight it on the Super Bowl stage and honor the communities that make New Orleans so special.”

“We knew from the start that we wanted this year’s theme art to capture the essence of New Orleans. Queen Tahj’s deep connection to her community and extraordinary talent made her the perfect artist for this project.” — NFL Senior VP Global Branding Marissa Solis

Queen Tahj is a member of the Golden Eagles Tribe. She is recognized for her masterful suit designs, intricately hand-sewn and beaded in the tradition of Black Masking Indians, also called Mardi Gras Indians. Featuring headdresses, capes, feathers, and vibrant-colored beaded images, patterns, and symbols, the suits often take all year to craft and are worn during annual Mardi Gras, St. Joseph’s Night, and Super Sunday celebrations.

“We always say every Black Masking Indian should know how to sing, dance, and sew but when you look deeper into that everyone kind of has their thing in the culture that they enjoy the most about the culture and it just so happens that mine is the artistry,” Queen Tahj said in an NFL video about creating the Super Bowl logo.

 


Artist Queen Tahj employed the same beadwork techniques she uses to create elaborate Black masking suits to create the logo for this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans. | Courtesy NFL

 

The Super Bowl logo will be featured prominently throughout the event in numerous capacities and applications, including on the team uniforms, the field of play at Caesars Superdome, NFL website, and part of the on-screen motion graphics package during the Fox broadcast of the game. For the logo, Queen Tahj worked with a primary palette of deep crimson and multiple tones of green, a nod to the official colors of the Chief and Eagles. The beadwork is defined by distinct graphic patterns that look like a deconstructed fleur-de-lis, an iconic mark recognizable to locals. The fleur-de-lis is the state symbol of Louisiana, the symbol of the city of New Orleans, and also the logo of the New Orleans Saints.

The theme art she created for the Super Bowl includes a background of plumes and fronds that could adorn a Mardi Gras suit and a more vivid and expansive palette incorporating lime green, tangerine, marigold, and plum. The art will grace the cover of the official program, appear on digital game tickets, and be featured on the exterior of the Hyatt Regency New Orleans hotel.

BLACK MASKING TRADITIONS date back to the 1800s when Native Americans provided safe harbor and a sense of belonging and community for Black freedom seekers fleeing slavery. When African Americans were shut out of the established Mardi Gras crews that parade on historic St. Charles Avenue, they started their own Carnival celebrations on the back streets with elaborate costumes drawing on African and Indigenous heritage. Today, there are more than 40 Black masking tribes in New Orleans.

“My origins from masking just come from being a child in New Orleans and getting to witness the culture. Majority of what I know from the culture has been through my uncle’s eyes who actually introduced me to the Black masking culture. Going out to see his friends on Mardi Gras Day and watching his friends make their suits throughout the year was always so intriguing to me. Until one day I saw a queen for the first time and I had no idea that women could be a part of the culture, too, and that was when I had my heart set on being in the Black masking culture,” Queen Tahj said in the video.

“I’ve kind of created my own path by going with different designs for my suits and trying to focus in on, you know, what could I do to elevate myself from the previous year. I like to kind of start with being in competition, you could say, with myself, before I go out on Mardi Gras Day and show everyone else why I’m so pretty. Tradition is important, especially in New Orleans because it gives us a sense of belonging and also is a connection to our past our ancestors.”

“This partnership is a dream come true and an opportunity to share the beauty of Black Masking culture with the world.” — Queen Tahj

 


Detail view of a Black masking suit designed, sewn, and beaded by Queen Tahj. | Courtesy NFL

 

Eight months ago, Queen Tahj was featured on one of four special covers produced for the July/August 2024 issue of Essence magazine. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Essence Festival, the issue was intended as a “love letter” to the people, places, and spaces of New Orleans. With a fondness for the tactile and the technological, Queen Tahj splits her interest in intricate beadwork with a love of computers that developed in high school. She studied information technology at Tulane University, where she earned her undergraduate degree in 2020.

Her background also includes sports. The Super Bowl project is a fitting assignment and a full-circle moment. Turns out, Queen Tahj played football in middle school. In the same manner that she saw a place for women and girls in masking culture, at a young age she carved out a place for herself on the football field.

“This partnership is a dream come true and an opportunity to share the beauty of Black Masking culture with the world,” Queen Tahj in a statement. “Being the only girl and captain of my middle school football team, football has played a tremendous role in my life by teaching me to me to focus on my dreams without worrying about what society thinks is for girls or boys. It’s the same spirit of determination that shapes my work today. Just as the NFL connects communities around the world through football, I hope my work brings people together to celebrate the history of New Orleans and inspires future generations to keep our traditions alive.” CT

 

WATCH MORE about Queen Tahj, her culture, her artistry, and how she got the offer for the historic project Super Bowl project in an NFL video

 

FIND MORE about Queen Tahj on Instagram and her website

 


The theme art Queen Tahj created for Super Bowl LIX will grace the official program cover, appear on digital game tickets, and be featured on the exterior of the Hyatt Regency New Orleans hotel. | Courtesy NFL

 


Tahj “Queen Tahj” Williams, Essence Magazine, July/August 2004. | Photographed by @E.BUCKLES

 


Queen Tahj working on the Super Bowl logo in her studio. The New Orleans artist is known for her intricate, hand-sewn beadwork. | Courtesy NFL

 

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