contesting/contexting SPORT 2016

The field of sport is one of the most influential contexts for shaping norms/normativities and (con)forming identities, while operating in different shapes, scales, levels and locations. It does so through gender discrimination/policing and LGBTIQ invisibility/oppression, from labor exploitation/body norming, to evictions around mega-sporting events and propaganda for nation-state oligarchies—in personal, institutional, global ways with everything in between and in the forms of racism, sexism, (neo)colonialism, homo/bi/transphobia, ageism, ableism, nationalism, along with class divisions and many other intersecting axes of difference.

Yet, sport systems are seldom contested or contextualized—instead they are taken for granted in their contemporary form. As an industrial complex, sport has become inaccessible to ethical and aesthetic reconfigurations. With the hyper-mediation of mega-sporting events this summer—the (Men’s) European Football Championship in France and the (Summer) Olympic Games in Brazil—there is an urgency to network, connect and create space for independent expressions in/on/with sport. This is about working against discrimination and injustice, to inspire intervention and instigate queer solidarity in emancipation.

contesting/contexting SPORT 2016 exhibition and program contests the field of sport through creative and critical practices/perspectives that question the status quo and assert change. It also contextualizes the declarative neutrality and autonomy of the field, rendering diverse influences, experiences and conditions of sport realities visible. Thus, as a platform for trans-disciplinary exchange, contesting/contexting SPORT 2016 materializes at the intersection of arts, sports and politics through art works, artefacts and media. Sport norms are questioned, critical voices are amplified and tensions are detected between sport and social justice.

Artists, activists, athletes, fans, critics and visionaries connect to develop and share work that challenges discrimination through a program spread across the city during summer of 2016. "SWEAT DREAMS" encompasses a program of public performances, presentations, lectures, screenings and interventions, while the QueerSport.LAB workshops focus on prototyping tools and testing methods for emergent interventions in the body, knowledge and culture of sport*.

Exhibition with: Pascal Anson, Aquahomo, Imtiaz Ashraf, Berlin Bruisers, Boxing Queers, Cassils, Manuela Covini, Antoni Hervas Cortes & Panteres Grogues, David Crespo, Tristan Deschamps, Discover Football, Estelle Fenech, Caitlin D. Fisher, Zsuzsi Flohr/The Jewish Renaissance Boxing Club, Gabriele Fulterer & Christine Scherrer, Grrrls Can Skate, Barbara Gruhl, Guerreiras Project, Jason Hall, Tabea Huth, Justin Jorgensen, Brian Kenny, Lola Lasurt, Julia Lazarus, Llobet & Pons, Albert Markert, Marthe’Oh, Tara Mateik, Marisa Maza, Dayna McLeod, Stuart Meyers, David Miguel, Frank J. Miles, Maximilian Moll, Marc Ohrem-Leclef, Les Dégommeuses, Tanja Ostojić, Open Games, Pirate Cinema, Max Pelgrims, Kathrin Rabenort, Rafucko, Saul Selles, Marc Serra, Coral Short, Julia Smit, Spielaufbau, Katja Stuke, Ilaa Tietz, Tools for Action/Artúr von Balen & QueerSport/ Željko Blaće, Alexa Vachon, Verena Melgarejo Weinandt, Tom Weller, QueerSportSplit & Zagreb, Queerfitness Berlin

Discursive program "SWEAT DREAMS" with: Mikel Aristegui, Željko Blaće, Alex Brahim, Vanessa Brazeau, Berlin Bruisers, Jules Boykoff, Copy & Dance, Julien Carrel, Veronica Cendoya, Jennifer Doyle, Zsuzsi Flohr, Caitlin D. Fisher, GEGEN, Diego Grandry, Guerreiras Project, Andrea Liu, Antoine LeBlanc, Philippe Liotard, Llobet & Pons, Tara Mateik, Stuart Meyers, Tanja Ostojić, Rafucko, RKS Gwiazda, Martin Schick, Saul Selles, Coral Short

neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst (nGbK)
Oranienstraße 25
10999 Berlin
Germany

Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien
Mariannenplatz 2
10997 Berlin
Germany