June and July will see South Africa and the world being exposed to the very best that football can offer. With the FIFA 2010 World Cup comes the cult of the celebrity and the mass media hype associated with the sport.
But beyond the media hysteria are many soccer players, supporters and followers who live and love the game with as much passion as the stars. Soccer Kultcha a photographic exhibition, beginning this month at The Michaelis Gallery in Orange Street, will celebrate the beautiful game and how it is played far from big stadiums.
The exhibition, curated by Paul Weinberg, Warren Nelson and Leanne Barling, in collaboration with Michaelis Art Gallery,, explores the footballers and their followers beyond the main stadiums.
These are the players who will kick a ball on any field they can find, sometimes with home-made balls or goals. This exhibition is about this vibrant soccer culture. The exhibition, will run from 11 June to 10 July and is bound to intriegue both local and international visitors.
The photographers participating in Soccer Kultcha are mainly street photographers who bring us their insights into football: off the radar and big screens but definitely on the map.
In South Africa, with its strong migrant and urban historical links, street photography has evolved into a distinct genre. Prevalent and pervasive, street photographers challenge official representations – of outsiders imaging the lives of others. This exhibition is a window on a world, highlighting how people photograph themselves and their fast changing typographies and cultures, as seen through the lens of football.
Far from official photographs, grand stadiums and headline grabbing photojournalism, the photographs of Soccer Kultcha invite us to rediscover the game of football, and the lives and passions of ordinary people who play and celebrate the game.
Soccer Kultcha is funded by the Embassy of Sweden and will be hosted by the Michaelis Art Gallery from 11 June to 10 July 2010.
Venue: Michaelis Galleries
University of Cape Town Hiddingh Campus
31 – 37 Orange Street
Cape Town
Dates and times: 11 June to 10 July 2010, Tue- Fri 10:00 – 15:00, Sat 10:00 – 12:00
For more information contact:
Nadja Deahnke at 021 4807170, 0823165272 or
Nadja.daehnke@uct.ac.za
