Jenny Kay Dupuis's art for the National Basketball Association

If you're a professional basketball fan, you may already know about the art that Jenny Kay Dupuis is doing for the NBA. In 2022 she was selected to do a series of Woodland Pop Art images. Here's one: 

She's a member of Nipissing First Nation and has written children's books including I Am Not A Number and Heart Berry Bling. In April she did a TikTok video about a mural she did for the NBA Courtside Restaurant in Toronto. I see there that you can buy items with her art! Gotta check that out. 

Here's links to other public art by Native artists who work in children's literature:

Crystal Worl's art on a Boeing 737

"We Are On Dakota Land" art by Marlena Myles on Minneapolis Metro Bus

Chinle Planting Hope's Bookmobile, with art by Jonathan Nelson

Jenny Kay Dupuis's art for the National Basketball Association

Crystal Worl's art on a Boeing 737

Back in May, I saw news stories about Crystal Worl's art being used on Alaska Airlines planes. She's done illustrations for children's books that we've written about before, and I was delighted to see it in such a large scale:

Worl is Tlingit Atabascan Yupik and Filipino. She's active on twitter. There, she shared several photos and also, an article from Alaska Public Media story that tells us the plane is named Xáat Kwáani (Salmon People). 

Today (June 8, 2023)--not by plan--is turning out to be a day in which I'm blogging about public art by Native people who also write or illustrate children's books. 

Crystal Worl's art on a Boeing 737

"We Are On Dakota Land" art by Marlena Myles on Minneapolis Metro Bus

Chinle Planting Hope's Bookmobile, with art by Jonathan Nelson

Jenny Kay Dupuis's art for the National Basketball Association

Chinle Planting Hope's Bookmobile with Jonathan Nelson's art

This morning as I looked in on my Facebook account, I saw the most marvelous thing: a bookmobile with Jonathan Nelson's art!

The bookmobile is a project with Chinle Planting Hope, a grassroots organization in Chinle, Arizona. It is a nonprofit working to build physical, social, educational, and spiritual health of community members. You can read more about the project at their site: R.E.A.D. in Beauty Bookmobile. 

Regular readers of AICL or anything who reads books by Native writers and illustrators know that Nelson has illustrated several books, including First Cousins and Rock Your Mocs. He also wrote and illustrated Jonesy a few years ago. Nelson is Diné. 

For more public art by Native artists, see:

Crystal Worl's art on a Boeing 737

"We Are On Dakota Land" art by Marlena Myles on Minneapolis Metro Bus

Chinle Planting Hope's Bookmobile, with art by Jonathan Nelson

Jenny Kay Dupuis's art for the National Basketball Association