After a summer full of sporting events, including the Olympic Games and the European Football Championship, the Kunstfort looks at the politics around sport, its perception, mediatized image, and collective memory. In the exhibition Politics at Play, Play at Politics, various prejudices are addressed which play a role in the perception and appreciation of athletes and sports. Among these are genderism, sexism, nationalism, and racism, as well as the struggle for colonial independence and Cold War politics: from Ruud Gullit to Zinedine Zidane, from explicit comments on Veronica Inside to implicitly biased commentary regarding athletes’ abilities, and from unequal pay depending on gender and color, to working conditions in Qatar and the involvement of refugees in sports. It might be the players who compete in the match, but outside the arena many more politics are at play.
Curated by Zippora Elders (Kunstfort) and guest co-curator Vincent van Velsen.
Artists: Marcel van den Berg, Dina Danish, Bardhi Haliti, Hiwa K, Amina Menia, Claudia Rankine & John Lucas, Martine Rose, Yara Said.