For some, the season for Albuquerque’s New Mexico United might be over, but artist Noé Barnett hopes to keep the team’s presence alive with his new mural for the club.
The New Mexico United mural is displayed on Second Street and Coal Avenue and was made by Barnett in just ten days.
Due to the pandemic, the team had a delayed start to the 2020 season and was forced to shut down on March 12, according to Peter Trevisani. United Creative Director Josh Lane said United will start back up again on July 11 for a brand new season.
The USL Championship, the league the club operates in, announced on Wednesday that the 2020 season will resume with a 16-match schedule. United will play behind closed doors during home games for the duration of the season due to the pandemic.
Barnett made sure to include the Albuquerque community fanbase — as well as the players themselves — in the mural.
“We’ve continued to bleed black and yellow as we’ve come together to support each other in ways we never thought possible before,” Trevisani said in a video update to the community.
Barnett said the community should show local support for the next season once New Mexico United starts back up in front of supporters.
“The new SOMOS UNIDOS mural will again focus on community and the fans that will be around for a while,” Barnett said.
The mural was updated on June 13 to include all of the current team members.
For Barnett, the hardest part was finding the perfect wall, which requires three different elements.
“One: good location. Two: a good wall that doesn’t have a thousand windows. And three: finding a building owner that is willing for you to paint and invest in the design — sounds simple but has a lot that goes into it,” Barnett said.
David and Adam Silverman are the building owners of the current mural location.
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In a past Daily Lobo article, Barnett said, "the whole concept of the mural was to show that the community and fanbase are the foundation that the team is based on.”
Barnett created his first masterpiece for New Mexico United in November. However, due to high heat damage, the first collage had to be thrown away.
“From the beginning, we knew we wanted that wall to be an evolving piece, ” Lane said.
For Lane, the idea for the mural started by searching through the photo archives from the team’s first year. He said he wanted to thank the supporters and community in a big way.
Barnett hopes to get people to come together, not just for the SOMOS UNIDOS, but for Albuquerque in general.
Barnett also has other murals with themes like Black Lives Matter and COVID-19 and stressed the importance of the community coming together because of the currently ongoing struggles.
Cameron Ward is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @xx_cameo_xx
