A public art project called Art of the Game has installed 23 large-scale soccer ball sculptures designed by contemporary artists—including Futura 2000, Katherine Bernhardt, Hank Willis Thomas, and Fred Wilson—across New York and New Jersey to celebrate the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The project was one of the last initiatives of the late philanthropist Agnes Gund, who formed a committee of museum curators to nominate artists. The sculptures were fabricated at Powerhouse Arts and assembled at Mana Contemporary, and five of them will be auctioned online at Christie’s in July, with proceeds benefiting the artists, ARTS 14C, and Studio in a School.
The project matters because it merges high-profile contemporary art with a global sporting event, bringing public art to diverse urban spaces and engaging major museums like the Met, MoMA, the Whitney, and the Brooklyn Museum. It also highlights the enduring influence of Agnes Gund as a connector and philanthropist, and demonstrates how nonprofit organizations like ARTS 14C can collaborate with major event committees to produce large-scale, community-facing art initiatives. The auction component further ties the project to the art market and charitable fundraising.