STADIUM: Challenges ofart, ideas and universities on Maurizio Cattelan’s soccer pitch

As part of the Festival of Sustainable Development, promoted by ASViS, the University of Padua participates in Intra, the event dedicated to art and experimentation organised by the Fondazione Alberto Peruzzo, which from 9 to 28 May involves artists and performers in dialogue with the cultural space of the former church of Sant’Agnese in Padua.

In this twofold setting, the Athenaeum takes the field with two appointments dedicated to the temporary installation ‘Stadium’ by artist Maurizio Cattelan . This work was first presented in 1991 at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Bologna, and consists of a table football (7 metres high, for challenges of 11 against 11 players), representing a metaphor for society and the divisions between categories: born as a declaration against racism, the work in fact reflects on the growing xenophobic climate of the early 1990s, creating a contrast between football, a national passion, and the more topical issue of the migrant and refugee crisis.

The art installation, present in the exhibition spaces of the show, will host tomorrow, Wednesday 21 May, the challenge between art historians and archaeologists, organised by the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Padua. On 28 May, instead, from 6 to 7 p.m., Unipd proposes a special challenge with the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, which will pit teams of 11 players against each other at the same time. Several matches will be held during the performance, so as to allow a greater number of participants to alternate.

The meeting on 28 May is followed by the concert with improvisational music A Love Supreme Impro Festival.

You can propose your team for a thematic challenge by contacting the Foundation.