Manchester International Festival 2025 presents "Football City, Art United" at Aviva Studios, a group exhibition co-curated by former footballer Juan Mata, curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Josh Willdigg. The show pairs eleven international footballers with artists across media—including Ryan Gander with Eric Cantona, Keiken with Ella Toone, and Suzanne Lacy with Vivianne Miedema and Ali Riley—to explore intersections of sport and contemporary art. Works range from a holographic tribute to Diego Maradona by Jill Mulleady to an interactive installation by Stefano Boeri Architetti with Sandro Mazzola. The exhibition runs through August 24, 2025.
The exhibition matters because it positions football not merely as a subject for art but as a collaborative creative practice, challenging hierarchies between popular culture and fine art. By bringing together figures from both worlds in co-created works, it models a new curatorial approach that values mutual learning and cross-disciplinary dialogue. The show also amplifies underrepresented voices in football, particularly women players, and uses the massive industrial space of Aviva Studios to stage immersive, participatory experiences that invite broad audiences to reconsider the cultural significance of sport.