Q&A: Mio Linzie - What is Pride

Mio Linzie is a queer artist growing the game of hockey in the LGBTQIA+ community through her unique artwork. In collaboration with teams in the NHL, including the Colorado Avalanche, Mio has created pride themed designs representative of each individual team.
As an organization, the Colorado Avalanche welcomes all, in the hopes to create a space where hockey is for everyone. The Avalanche partnered with Mio to bring more queer voices and representation to the game of hockey.

What does pride and celebrating pride mean to you?
I think pride is obviously really important. As a queer person, your identity is really a part of you and being alive. For me, it's just a part of my every day and it's a part of reality.
In an ideal world, it wouldn't have to be noticed. It wouldn't have to be special, because in an ideal world it wouldn't be something that people you know judge you for.
It's really about finding those people you belong with and feel comfortable with. So, pride really becomes kind of the focus on that.
It's very important that queer people get voice. I think it's very important and queer people get to be in the sport and be online and say, 'Hey, we do this, we are doing this,' and I think it's important that the teams are out there saying, 'We encourage you.'
Within the world of sports and growing the game, especially for queer communities, what are some educational resources that you recommend or things that you notice teams are doing right that are helping grow the game specifically in the NHL?
I think the most important part is when the hockey teams employ queer people and let them speak; when it comes to pride month, when it comes to queer initiatives, when it comes to pride nights, when teams actively have people from those communities speak, have introduced resources, share articles, share things from those people and talk to those people like, 'Hey, what should we do? Does this work?'
Actively including queer people and letting them take the space.
I think it matters a lot for this kind of representation. Allies are extremely important, but we need to have our own questions and be able to talk for ourselves. A lot of times we can do things you know like I am a queer artist and I'm going to do what I do like."
What got you personally interested in hockey?
Considering I'm Swedish, I think most people feel I grew up with hockey, but I [didn't grow up with] hockey at all. I didn't really get interested [in the sport] until two years ago when I started university.
Mio had a peaked interest in the sport when the NHL utilized a bubble setup for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the summer of 2020 as a result of the pandemic. She noted that the social media exposure and the community around hockey Twitter was welcoming.
I was seeing queer people talk about it and seeing people like me talk about it. The narratives, the storytelling, not just the sport, but the things behind it.
Bringing her artwork into the space was something she felt she could connect both the storytelling and the game side of the sport.
It's real and how it connects with me and how I express myself. It's really what hooked me on the sport because it was the perfect balance for my own self-expression and how I can see the world.
Every team has their own narrative and mythology. Every player has their own story. Every fan has their own story and how those connect, it's so fascinating. I love that because it's like you have so much to play with and so much to see creatively I love worldbuilding and concepting and all of that. It's so silly to world build around hockey teams, but that's what I like doing.
What got you started on your specific style of art?
I've been seriously doing art since I was 12 and I wanted to work in art since I was 12. Art [is] me, it's my passion. It's the one thing everything is connected to. I rarely do something that isn't connected to art. So, that is really the center of me.
I've always sketched. I always [have] drawn. I've always created art. I've always explored and I think really my artistic side has just been shaped through that journey.
When asked about her unique color pallet Mio had a very simple answer.
I've worked with bright colors since day one. I'm allergic to saturated colors.
My style is always evolving. It was when I was younger, but it's still constantly changing because I'm constantly being inspired by new things.
What does the phrase "Hockey is for Everyone" mean to you?
I like to think about [the] hockey for everyone phrase, I kind of thought like hockey is for me. Sort of like reclaim that phrase. It is for me.
What can organizations do to be more inclusive?
I think what a lot of teams can do is actively speaking out against homophobia and actively speaking out when things happen, because in so many times people will be silent, or quiet and kind of gloss over it and don't take action…. consult queer people, see how they would handle it. Actively take a stance and taking a stance through the organization.
Pride night jerseys, people hiring artists, people talking with queer fans, engaging with them on Twitter, spotlighting them. I think those steps are in the right direction, going towards where we need to be in the end.

What does the pride artwork you created for the Avalanche symbolize?
The most important thing to me is that I wanted to represent the community within the Avalanche's fanbase: I wanted to show that those people exist and include them in my work. It's really what I try to do with all my art: speak as well as I can for me, and the community around me. I also loved focusing on the nature and setting: showing the mountains, the frozen lake, the 'Avalanche' inspired mountain in the distance. For me, nature is something extremely important, but I also think it represents a larger part of the queer community as well as Denver and Colorado as a whole. To me, similar to a lot of work I do, it really tied together the team with the city and the people.