Portland Timbers Celebrate Clyde Best with Powerful Mural
Portland, OREGON
Clyde Best and Artist Kyra Watkins in front of the new mural at Providence Park in Portland.
On September 22, 2023, a new mural honoring Clyde Best was unveiled at Providence Park. Best played for the Timbers in their first iteration in the 1970’s and traveled to Portland to be honored by the Portland Timbers. As part of the ceremonies the Timbers reached out to PSAA to help them create a mural in the stadium to honor Best and his legacy.
Former college athlete and Portland artist, Kyra Watikins, was the perfect fit for this project. As a muralist, Kyra is best known for her striking portraits. Kyra adeptly captured Best’s image; creating a prominent new mural to help honor and tell his inspiring story.
Before coming to Portland, Best was one of the first Black athletes to play in the first division of English Premier League when he was recruited from Bermuda in 1968 at age 17. An inspiration for generations of Black athletes, Best helped shape the future of soccer worldwide.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kyra Watkins apprenticed at age 15 with ArtWorks Cincinnati before attending the University of Cincinnati to study figurative art and portraiture. Since coming to Portland, she has worked with PSAA and is known for her work with "Never Look Away," a mural celebrating the LGBTQ+ community as well as having her work in the Black Lives Matter Artist Grant Exhibition at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU. Most recently, Watkins was selected by PSU and the Jason Erik Washington Art Committee as an artist-in-residence to create an remembrance of Washington at PSU's Smith Memorial Student Union.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
Photography by Sara Sjol for Portland Street Art Alliance