Three World Cups.

One Mural.

Meet Hannah Wilkinson. Artist. Painter. Footballer.

The Feature.
Episode one.

The Feature is a new NZPFA publication focused on highlighting the experience of our members.

It will be delivered at least quarterly and supported by collaborations between members, the NZFPA and other key contributors to football in New Zealand.

Earlier this year, Eden Park got a face lift from our very own Hannah Wilkinson.

You will know Hannah from her exploits on the field; her pace and power, which require the constant supervision from defences.

What you may not be aware of is Hannah’s enviable creative ability. From being the Queen of Kings of Leon to being able to turn concrete into a canvas.

We followed Hannah through the process of rejuvenating a corner of the Garden of Eden, leaving her mark and hopefully foreshadowing the lasting impact that the Football Ferns will leave on the field during the FIFA World Cup 2023.

Words by Jason Pine. Visuals by Jogie and Co.

Catch Hannah and the Football Ferns as they take on Wales - details here.

Footballers are often described as artists. Being able to unlock a watertight defence with a well-placed pass, dance past would-be tacklers with the ball seemingly attached to their boots, or see a picture in the mind’s eye and bring it to life on the grass are qualities we associate with the best players on the planet.

But when it comes to the ability to both conceive and produce actual works of art upon a physical canvas, Football Ferns striker Hannah Wilkinson is on another level entirely.

Her latest creation is absolutely stunning. On a prominent wall at Auckland’s Eden Park, Wilkinson has designed and painted a mural to commemorate the three women’s World Cups which have and will be played at the venue in 2022 and 2023; cricket, rugby and her own sport, football.

The work was commissioned by Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner who met Wilkinson at an event shortly after co-hosting rights for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup were awarded to New Zealand.

“He asked if I’d be keen to design a mural to showcase the three women’s World Cups at Eden Park. I said, “Hell, yes!’ and started putting together a design,” says Wilkinson.

“I started doodling a few ideas involving a footballer, a rugby player and a cricketer and combined that with New Zealand symbolism to showcase the pathway for female athletes in three really cool sports. I just let my creative juices flow and created a long mural-style piece. I was keen to do something really big to showcase women’s sport in the best way I could.”

Once the concept was complete, Wilkinson took a photo of the space and digitally overlaid her design. She then divided the image into squares on the wall and worked on each one separately to bring her vision to life.
Two weeks’ painstaking work culminated in a breathtaking image which captures everything both Sautner and Wilkinson had imagined. Three pony-tailed sportswomen in full flight are meshed with native birds, Maunga and Koru.

Ever the perfectionist though, Wilkinson’s not absolutely satisfied with her striking creation.

“I look at it and wish I could tidy up little bits of it that most people won’t even notice! It was challenging because the surface is almost like road seal and quite stony. It’s not flat at all, so it was a challenge to get the lines crisp and clean. But overall, I’m really happy with it.”

Art runs deep through the roots of the Wilkinson family tree with Hannah’s grandmother teaching her from an early age. She and her brother would spend rainy days at their beachside bach, drawing for hours at old-style school desks.

The passion has never faded.

“It’s something I get real joy out of, and I can do it anywhere”

“It definitely gives me balance. It’s hard being an elite female athlete with all the sacrifices you make, but art was particularly good when I was injured and really helped with my mental health.”

“Getting into a flow state and starting the creative process can translate onto the football pitch as well. Art is something I get lost in and I think a lot of footballers can relate to that, getting lost in the game, especially when we’re doing something we’re so passionate about. There’s a lot of overlap as well as balance.”

But there are even more strings to Wilkinson’s bow, or more correctly, her guitar. She’s also a talented musician, recording her own songs and drawing her team-mates together through the power of chords and melodies.

“My Dad played the guitar and bought me my first one when I was about ten,” she remembers.

“I was a bit different from other kids in that I just wanted to get good at things, to the point of becoming a bit obsessed. If I really liked something, I was determined to learn how to do it and I stuck with it until I did. I was very stubborn in that respect.

“A lot of people give up learning the guitar because it’s quite hard. It’s very tedious but you have to stick with it and then it becomes easy. I’ve improved over the years, and I’ve got better by playing in front of people and building confidence that way.

“It’s proof that if you stick with something even though it’s frustrating and hard, you will improve. That was drummed into me early in football as well. A lot of the time, things won’t go your way, but they will if you just keep going. It’s a philosophy that carries over into music and art as well. I’ve met a lot of athletes who have creative sides. It’s not uncommon and pretty cool.”

The search for balance in the white-hot cauldron of elite sport is a skill many players never master. Having interests outside the game and other avenues to channel her energy and creativity towards has helped Wilkinson forge an outstanding career for club and country. With 105 caps, she’s one of eleven Ferns centurions, and her 27 goals have her fourth on New Zealand’s all-time list.

“I’ve met a lot of players whose whole world is football, and they spend hours, days, or weeks reeling over losses. That’s not to say I don’t reel over losses because I hate losing more than anything, but I have a coping mechanism. I guess in some ways that makes me different to a lot of footballers I’ve come across.

“It really depends on what kind of person you are, and other people have different ways of approaching it. But for me, I need to escape from football to cope with things like losses and injuries and to refresh myself. It just works really well for me.”

On top of all of that, Wilkinson has become a passionate advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community. Her vocal support for an historically marginalized sector of society is just another layer to her impressive persona.

“Seeing prolific people coming out and being loud and proud about their identities wasn’t something I really had growing up,” she says.

“The more we see that and the more visibility there is in normalizing alternative or different identities to what we’re conditioned to growing up, the better. The diversity of human sexuality is becoming bigger and more powerful, especially in sport.

“I’m aware of the influence I can possibly have, and I often think of my young self and what I would have wanted to see. There’s a reason so many people grow up being closeted for so long; they become convinced there’s no space for them in the world. Thankfully that’s changing because of high-profile people being loud and proud about their own identity. It’s an important space for me.

“I get a lot of really amazing messages from kids; maybe it’s a young person who’s struggling with an ACL injury or someone who’s coming to terms with their sexuality. That’s how I know I’m doing it right.”

Wilkinson is currently in camp with the national side ahead of upcoming friendlies against Norway and Wales. Everything is geared towards next year when the footballing world will descend on Australia and Aotearoa for the biggest sporting event to ever hit our shores.

“The second we won that bid, it felt like a dream come true,” says Wilkinson.

“I still don’t think New Zealand is quite ready for how big this is going to be. There are going to be billions of eyes on our country. Football might not be up there with cricket and rugby yet, but after the World Cup, I’m sure it will climb and what’s really special is that it’ll be women’s football that climbs.”