Frost Science photo
Audio By Carbonatix
No matter where you go in Miami, everyone seems to have the World Cup on their mind. With Miami serving as one of the host cities, it’s no surprise that our creative community has chosen to commemorate the occasion artistically. Even if you don’t have tickets to one of the matches, you’ll want to check out notable museum shows, exhibitions, and other events that blend artistry on the canvas and on the soccer field throughout the tournament.
Hank Willis Thomas/Jack Shainman Gallery, New York photo
“Get in the Game” and Game Time at PAMM
By far the biggest World Cup-adjacent art experience in Miami this summer, “Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture” is traveling from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with more than 100 works exploring the intersection of culture and competition. The selections go well beyond soccer, with dozens of sports from baseball to tennis to figure skating and Formula 1 represented. Centerpieces include Hank Willis Thomas’ full-scale replica of Picasso’s “Guernica” made from sports jerseys, and drawings by famed illustrator LeRoy Neiman of the Don Shula-era Miami Dolphins, exclusive to the Miami version of the show.
The art on the walls is only the start. PAMM is also hosting Game Time, a multi-part conference designed to supplement and enhance the exhibition. The first session in March featured conversations with artists, journalists, curators, and athletes including Miami Herald reporter Isaiah Smalls, writer Hanif Abdurraqib, and pro wrestler Lee Moriarty. Session two on Friday, June 26, contains even more athletic star power in the form of Olympic gold medalist Tommie Smith, famed for his Black Power protest at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. Pérez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-375-3000; pamm.org. Tickets cost $18 for adults and $14 for students with ID, seniors age 62 and over, and youth ages seven to 18. Admission is free for active U.S. military and veterans with ID, healthcare professionals and first responders with ID, children 6 and under, Florida educators with ID, and visitors with disabilities and their caregivers.
FIFA Museum photo
“Unidad: The World’s Game” at FIFA Museum
The global governing body for world soccer has opened a branch of its museum in Miami, taking over two floors of the Freedom Tower with a thematic exhibition centered on the World Cup. “Unidad: The World’s Game” is heavier on artifacts than artistry, with displays of memorabilia, trophies, and other objects from every official FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cup. Many of the displays focus on the global nature of the game, from a web of global soccer balls, both makeshift and official, to a wall of jerseys from every member country from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. There’s also a documentary wall and an interactive trivia game that’s surprisingly hard — like, “you’d better know when Vanuatu played their first regulation match” hard. FIFA Museum at the Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Blvd. Miami; fifamuseum.com. Access is included with Freedom Tower tickets, which cost $18 for general admission; $14 for seniors over 62; $12 for youth ages 7 to 18 and students with ID. Admission is free for children under six, Miami-Dade College students and employees with ID, active U.S. military and veterans with ID, and visitors with disabilities and their caregivers.
Frost Science photo
“Extreme Sports: Beyond Human Limits” at Frost Science
Frost Science’s latest temporary exhibition delves into the wide world of sports — including soccer — from a scientific perspective. “Extreme Sports” explores the psychology and physics behind some of the most daring and dangerous athletic endeavors, from skydiving and snowboarding to mountain biking and rock climbing, investigating the chemical rewards that drive athletes forward. Interactive sections let visitors try out a slackline and climb on rock walls while personality quizzes allow you to investigate whether or not you have the psychological profile of an extreme athlete. Soccer fans will find plenty to like here too, with World Cup-themed displays focusing on the physics of a perfect goal and a simulation game letting wannabe Messis and Maradonas try to score one themselves. Frost Science, 1101 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-434-9600; frostscience.org. Tickets cost $29.95 to $34.95 for adults; and $24.95 to $26.95 for youths ages 4 to 11. Admission is free for children under 3.
© Douglas Gordon and © Philippe Parreno/Gagosian
“Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait” at The Bass
Zinedine Zidane’s illustrious career may be overshadowed by the headbutting incident at the 2006 World Cup final that shook the world, but between leading the French to victory at their home World Cup in 1998 and very successful stints as both player and coach for Real Madrid, the man from Marseille remains a living legend of the Beautiful Game. Concurrently with the World Cup, Miami Beach’s Bass Museum is celebrating this icon of football by staging Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno’s experimental documentary “Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait” through the day of the final on July 19. Rather than focus on Zidane’s achievements or life, the directors filmed the player in real time over the course of a single La Liga match against Villarreal in 2005 using 17 synchronized cameras. The result is a two-channel film — soundtracked by post-rock band Mogwai — that captures the essence of an extraordinary player, defining him not by achievements or life story, but by what he does on the field. The Bass Museum of Art, 2100 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; 305-673-7530; thebass.org. Admission costs $15 for adults and $8 for seniors, students, and youth. Admission is free for children six and under, Miami Beach and Surfside residents, City of Miami Beach employees, military and veterans, SNAP EBT cardholders, and visitors with disabilities and their caregivers.
Let’s Wyn photo
“Let’s Wyn” in Wynwood
Wynwood’s Business Improvement District is launching a series of art initiatives to ensure the infamously touristy “arts district” is packed to the gills throughout the World Cup. For six weeks, the “Let’s Wyn” program will install a series of soccer-themed art activations throughout the neighborhood. The centerpiece is an interactive scavenger hunt called Wynwood to the World, in which visitors search the area for 48 badges, one for each team in the cup. Once the tournament reaches the round of 16, the remaining countries will be added to a 10-foot sculpture called “The World Ball,” to be installed on NW Second Ave. If that isn’t enough, there will also be a “Soccer Ball Art Trail” with custom balls designed by artist Lili Cantero themed around the last 10 World Cup tournaments, as well as watch parties, youth soccer clinics, and other events running throughout June and July. There’s another incentive to all this: Joining Let’s Wyn and finding the badges will let participants enter to win various prizes, from a custom ball designed by Cantero to tickets to the Bronze Medal Match at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, July 18. letswyn.com.
Playlab, Inc.
“Reefline’s Big Goals” by PlayLab, Inc.
Can you play soccer underwater? Miami Beach’s Reefline may be a submerged sculpture park, but even they’re getting into the World Cup spirit with a soccer-themed art installation on the shoreline. “Big Goals” is a large-scale art installation centered on two very big soccer goals set within a relatively small playing field, designed by PlayLab, Inc. and produced by artists Jessica Trosman and Emiliano Miliyo. The artists recruited a team of weavers from Argentina to hand-crochet the nets from reclaimed textiles. Designed to call attention to environmental and ecological concerns, the installation will be activated with a series of weekend events that invite participants to collect plastic waste along the beach starting Sunday, June 14. The installation closes on Sunday, June 28. Reefline, Miami Beach; thereefline.org. Admission is free.
