Lawrence artists draw inspiration from World Cup and city's new friendship with Team Algeria 19%
By Naomi Sui Pang0%
6/21/2026, 9:00:00 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 27 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, Negativity Bias, and In-Group Bias, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 22% saturation with 148 hits. Analysis detected 1,092 faulty-reasoning hits from 673 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 34.3% and a BS Rank of 19% (16,637 of 20,517 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 81.10% of the article peer group.
LAWRENCE, Kansas — Angie Pickman was scrolling through Facebook when she saw a post from the city of Lawrence that left her astounded.
Looking back at her was the Algerian ambassador, next to one of Pickman’s art pieces.
The city had selected it and gifted it to Sabri Boukadoum as an official diplomatic offering.
Pickman, a Lawrence-based artist who has been nationally recognized for her intricate detailed artwork, was shocked by this.
“Total surprise, totally awesome,” Pickman said Tuesday during an interview at her studio.
“I love that, you know, my art can kind of take on different meanings to different people.
I’m just really happy the city of Lawrence chose to use that.”
The piece, titled “Within Your Grasp,” features a fox and a crescent moon.
Pickman said the piece was most likely chosen due to the symbols and their connection to the Algerian national team, Les fennecs (The Desert Foxes).
The artwork also features a key, symbolizing finding answers or hidden meanings.
“To me ... it’s almost like we’re giving the Algerian team this key to our city, symbolically,” said Pickman, who’s made art for decades.
“We've welcomed them here with open arms, and ‘Within Your Grasp’ not only symbolizes that, but also maybe their position as a team with the World Cup.”
Pickman said seeing her art land at the intersection of local pride and the international stage felt rewarding.
"Art is something that does bring community together, and art crosses cultural boundaries," Pickman said.
"Soccer in general ... it’s something that brings a lot of people together from a lot of different backgrounds.
So, I feel like there’s that tie-in there."
The connection was obvious to local artist Stan Herd, too.
When the news broke that Team Algeria was making Lawrence its World Cup base camp, Herd and his crew didn’t hesitate to find out more about this foreign nation and a way to welcome them.
"We all got on Wikipedia and started learning everything we could," Herd said.
"And now the whole town has become Algeria."
Herd translated his research into a massive art installation on the University of Kansas campus grass.
For this piece, his team shaped locally found materials into the lawn of the arts building at the Lied Center.
They used an assortment of different shaded mulch to define the lines, contrasting against the natural grass and layering sand to block out the design.
Initially the plan was to have the Algerian national team stand right on top of the massive flag design.
“But then we found out that it's probably not a good idea to stand on the flag, you know, ceremonially, because the flag is sacred," Herd said.
"So, you have to adapt to change.
It moved in that direction, and so we moved with it.
And that's what makes it beautiful."
Instead, a massive crowd of Algerians and Lawrence locals (who were attending the Algeria Comes Alive in Lawrence event) formed a tight human border around the perimeter as a drone took arial shots of the scene.
Even during a tornado watch, which didn’t seem to faze anyone, the air filled with traditional drumming and a thunderous chant of “1, 2, 3, viva l’Algerie!”
After the flag celebration, people from all age groups joined the dance floor, swaying to a DJ playing Algerian music.
Herd was caught off guard when he was pulled to the side to be handed a framed photograph bearing a special signature from the Algerian community.
"It’s kind of surreal," Herd said.
"This story is spreading around the world ... and it’s not because the art’s great or because I’m a big famous artist.
It’s the idea that an artist, with his family and his friends, got together and created some art to welcome these beautiful people.
That’s the kind of thing we’re missing in the world.”
Naomi Sui Pang is a University of Kansas sophomore from Lawrence, studying multimedia journalism and political science.
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