Football. Soccer. Kurat Al Qadam. Fútbol. The names vary, but the game is the same. It’s played everywhere. In every village and city. In every country. On every continent. Love it or loath it, football is the most popular sport on the planet. It is considered a microcosm of our world: an avatar of social dilemmas, mirroring highs and lows, challenges and successes, struggles and triumphs, wins and losses. The media coverage of the game has reinforced and globalized these human sentiments. However, what would we find if we dared to look behind this glossy cover?
This summer we take the dare.
Open to the public August 3–November 12, 2022, Is it a beautiful game? investigates the multiple characters the media play when mediating football to the world.
From jerseys worn by Mohamed Salah and Diego Maradona to a football match told completely through data, this exhibition shines a spotlight on a relationship like no other. Tracing the steps of where fans, footballers and journalists converge, the dynamics of their bond unfold through the themes of Off the Pitch, Mixed Zone and Post Match. Students, graduates, journalists, professors, researchers, footballers, fans and industry professionals share perspectives that reveal the extraordinary richness of the game's influence and unpack how the inextricable relationship between media and football continues to grow, shape and morph across time, technology and cultures.
When the game matters to billions of people the world around we believe it ceases to be just a game, but rather a multi-billion-dollar political catalyst.
The game is now on, and it is your turn to know more about how football, media and ‘the beautiful game’ intertwine.
Listen to the curator of Is it a beautiful game?, Jack Thomas Taylor, speaking with Danyel Reiche, associate professor at Georgetown University Qatar about the exhibition.
You can learn more about the exhibition here, in the November 2022 article on the exhibition by SCALE.
This exhibition is accompanied by a full color publication, available in Arabic and English, and a series of discussion programs, as well as a film screening. Follow the museum on social media for updates on all these aspects.
