An artist of Ghanaian descent, Bempong, like many Canadian kids, developed a deeper understanding of his heritage as he grew up. Throughout his childhood, he began noticing African patterns and designs worn by members of his community while attending church and family events. At first, these patterns were eye-catching, but he would later learn to appreciate the history behind these little "sprinkles" of Ghanian culture as Bempong described them. As a teen, he lived in Ghana to attend high school, immersing himself in African culture for three years.
Designing this jersey has allowed Bempong to come full circle and give life to what he has learned about his culture.
"It was really cool for me to dive into the history and the story and where that all kind of came from," he said.
The patch design is inspired by Kente, a historic Ghanaian textile made of handwoven cloth, cotton, and silk. The colours incorporated into the design are black for spiritual power and maturity, yellow represents royalty and prosperity, green for renewal, growth, and harvest, and red represents lifeblood, passion, and strength.
The fact that he has designed the first-ever Black History Month jersey for the Canucks has yet to sink in for the designer that says he draws inspiration for his clothing line from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
"It's surreal," he said. "I'm still pinching myself."
For Bempong, it was important throughout the process to not treat this as work but rather as an artistic project.
"I wanted to execute as best as I could, rather than feeling the weight of the project]," he said.
But once it was done, he says the response has been overwhelming.
"It was crazy," said a proud Bempong. "It just felt like I was able to really give some representation to my people, not just Ghanaians but also just Africans, anybody of colour. Just to show that we're able to get this platform and do this. I'm really happy to see the inclusion that's happening right now."
The ability to merge sport and art through this project is significant to Bempong because it's the ultimate representation of what this team, city, and the people stand for.
"I think it's so important to merge the two and have that be as clearly communicated as possible and to incite some sort of emotion," he said. "And with sports, I feel like that's a lot of pride when it's your hometown."
Ultimately, the artist hopes that when people see these jerseys on Thursday night, they really appreciate the four colours and what they represent.
"I just want them to take in the fact that we really got Africa here on the ice," he said. "I really want people to see it and feel more included."
To find more of Bempong's work, you can check out his fashion brand Sleepless Mindz [on Instagram and at www.sleeplessmindz.com. But if you really want to support the movement?
"Follow your dreams," Bempong said. "Don't give up. Stay sleepless and keep following the vision when people doubt you."
The Black History Month warmup jerseys will be available for auction at vanbase.ca.
