Sophia Yeshi knows she is not like the others. There are no pictures of her with paintbrush and canvas, or clay-covered hands, on her Instagram.

In a group full of fine artists selected by the NFL Artist Replay program to show at Art Basel, Yeshi is a graphic artist whose work mostly lives in the digital world.

Yeshi is accustomed to feeling like an outsider, though. She was a “latchkey kid” who spent afternoons at home while other kids were playing sports or practicing music. She felt limited by her circumstances but said she was also afraid to take risks even when she could have — until, that is, she accidentally found Photoshop.

So when she got an offer from the NFL, she pushed through the immediate feeling of intimidation and searched for inspiration. It was not hard to find. Her father is a huge Ravens fan who loves Ray Lewis.

Her piece, which shows Lewis in the throes of his signature pregame squirrel dance and aims to convey the joy that sports can bring a community, touched the legend himself.

Lewis reached out to discuss the work, which was displayed at Miami’s Art Basel over the weekend. He described Yeshi’s art as “not just refreshing, timely, and creative — it’s truly extraordinary.”

“I love her work as it beautifully weaves together different influences, keeping the human connection among people vibrant,” Lewis said in a message to The Banner.

“I didn’t expect him to see the piece at all, to be honest,” Yeshi said. “Like, I had no expectation that he would see it. I was really excited. … I was really blown away by his response.”

Her father was less surprised.

“My dad was funny. He was like, ‘You know Ray Lewis loves himself, so I’m sure he loved it,’” Yeshi said with a laugh.

Finding her passion

With her dad busy at work, Yeshi spent a lot of time sitting in her Owings Mills home surfing the computer. A good chunk of that time was spent on Neopets, a virtual pet game with online communities.

As Yeshi interacted with the Neopets community, she discovered that people were creating designs using Photoshop.

“I really like the ability to like create something, put it out there, and then get a response and get feedback,” Yeshi said.

She didn’t even know what graphic design was at 12, but her journey began as soon as she started creating through the strenuous process of working in Photoshop using only her trackpad.

From there, she went to Western School of Technology, a magnet school in Catonsville, with goals of going to the Maryland Institute College of Art. Tuition was too steep, so Yeshi headed to the University of Baltimore, where she fell in love with the sense of community within the city.

“Baltimore, to me, is just a really small, tight-knit community,” Yeshi said. “That’s what I think of. It’s like that place where everybody knows each other. … I look at it as like a community that really supports and helps one another, because we don’t have as much infrastructure as other cities.”

The art scene also lacked structure but nevertheless felt closely connected. Despite the presence of MICA, Yeshi said, everything felt very “DIY,” but there was support across mediums. Visual artists and musicians worked together to lift each other up. Yeshi started making money off her art by making flyers for DJs, parties and local businesses.

Yeshi always knew she would end up in New York and, sure enough, she made it there in 2019. But after five years she’s still repping Baltimore.

“Sometimes people try to say, like, I’m a New Yorker now,” Yeshi said. “Like, no, I’m never gonna be a New Yorker. I’m always gonna be from Baltimore.”

Football is community

When Yeshi thinks back to her early memories of sports, she recalls her dad and his love of the Ravens.

Planning things on fall Sundays was out of the question.

“He would say, ‘Football is my religion,’” Yeshi said.

Sometimes, her dad would cook a huge spread for the game and invite friends over. So, while Yeshi never played a sport or paid enough attention to the games to have favorite players, she thinks of community when she thinks of sports.

In 2021, she saw how that community, made of sports fans and athletes, could overlap with hers, a community of creatives, when the Knicks and Rangers asked her to design their Pride Night jerseys and promotional material to be featured at Madison Square Garden.

“These institutions supporting artists, I just think that it gives artists a platform and introduces fans who may not have had exposure to these artists otherwise,” Yeshi said. “It gives [fans] an opportunity to have a different type of connection with their favorite team, their favorite players.”

That opportunity has opened the door to more in the sports industry, and she has since done other projects, including designing the National Women’s Soccer League’s Pride pitch on a rooftop in New York.

Then her manager and the NFL connected about the Artist Replay program. Created to amplify the Black, Indigenous and people of color artist community, it gives five artists across the country the chance to create a unique piece as part of a gallery showing at Art Basel during Miami Art Week.

“The goal is always to create platforms for diverse artists to shine, and where their work can resonate with people around the world,” Cam Kirk, photographer and founder of Cam Kirk Studios, and the curator of Artist Replay, said in a press release. “By amplifying their art, we’re not only elevating their voices but also deepening the connection between the game and its fans.”

And Yeshi’s art, with the way it captured the “essence of culture,” fit perfectly with what Artist Replay is all about.

“She was chosen because her work speaks to the heart of the program’s goal and brings football into the contemporary art world in a way that feels fresh,” said Ian Trombetta, the NFL’s senior vice president of influence marketing.

Feeling the pressure

Artist Replay only recently expanded beyond fine artists. That expansion resulted in Yeshi’s selection — the other four artists are painters and sculptors.

There’s Cristina Martinez, a painter from Seattle with a background in fashion. Julian Gaines, from Portland, Oregon, has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing. Michael Hamilton, another New York-based artist, does digital work but also creates traditional pieces. And Murjoni Merriweather, a Marylander whom Yeshi knows, is a sculptor.

“I was a little intimidated, because I am primarily a digital artist, and knowing that this is going to be shown during the Miami Art Week with all of these fine artists who have shown in galleries before, I kind of felt this pressure to create something similar,” Yeshi said.

But the NFL didn’t ask her to change her style. It chose her for her. She realized that and went to work on her tablet.

“Sophia’s work really stood out because it brings a fresh perspective to football, blending digital art with the energy of the sport,” Trombetta said. “Moving beyond traditional fine arts was a way to tap into a broader audience — especially younger fans.”

She aimed to create a piece that would convey joy, excitement and energy. And Lewis’ dance was the ideal way to share all those things while emphasizing her Ravens fandom, as well.

Now her piece, created in her own style, will hang at a renowned gallery. It will be her first time showing in a gallery, an opportunity she said she doesn’t get offered often and has run away from in the past.

She’s hoping this opportunity helps her reach her ultimate goal, which is to create pieces that would live every day in people’s homes on T-shirts, pillows and other products.

The NFL’s program is a huge step forward, and it reinforced her favorite piece of advice to other creatives.

“Keep creating the work that you want to get hired for, even if people aren’t hiring you for it,” Yeshi said. “How have I set myself up for these types of opportunities? Well, I’ve been working on similar types of projects for a couple of years now, so I’ve been in this space, working in sports. Not only that, I’ve been working with clients on this scale. So I think the more you can really just create and get your name out there and promote yourself and market yourself, it’s going to do a lot.”