OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE | 2024
BABESBURGH “PAINT THE TOWN PURPLE” PROJECT | PITTSBURGH, PA

Young was 1 of 4 artists to design and illustrate a vinyl panel of Pittsburgh-area historic women for display in Downtown Pittsburgh, with her individual category being sports. She was asked to portray four historic, Pittsburgh-grown, women athletes who have forged their own non-traditional paths as living legends:

• Swin Cash (basketball) - 3x WNBA Champion, 2x Olympic gold medalist, Hall of Fame (2022)

• Bianca Smith (baseball) - the first African American woman MLB Coach

• Brianne McLaughlin (ice hockey) - 2x Olympic silver medalist, Isobel Cup Champion, and

• Meghan Klingenberg (soccer) - 2x NWSL Champion, 1x FIFA World Cup Champion

Some have described Janel’s personal style as "artist-meets-athlete," and she wears the label proudly. The JY Originals motto to inspire through creativity and play is at work in this project. She thrives through both art and sport, and it's even better when the two collide.

In the design, Young wanted to acknowledge the athletes’ accomplishments through shape and movement. The white shapes on the athletes’ respective portrait frames coincide with their jersey numbers at the highest level of play on the world stage (with the exception of Coach Smith, represented by Young’s signature star cluster).

Janel hopes more young girls and women see this work and feel confident to make a way for themselves, even if it looks different than anything they have seen before. As Bianca Smith would say, “If you can’t see it, go be the first!”