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The Beautiful Game was a project for children, held during the summer holidays, that combined art and football.  Workshops were held over a two-week period, and culminated in an exhibition at Slugtown.
TitleThe Beautiful Game Artists Young people of Newcastle upon TyneDates21.08.2025 – 30.08.2025Location Slugtown, Newcastle upon Tyne, UKLink Click here

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Forming the backdrop to the exhibition is a collaborative mural made by kicking paint-soaked foam footballs at a net that was taped on to the back wall of the gallery. The initial idea for this installation coming from the polite repeating of reminding younger visitors to the gallery to not kick their footballs around the gallery space and near the artworks. 
From the ages of 7 to 14, football was a massive part of my life, and gave me a lot. The rest of the workshops were designed with my younger self in mind: “what would I have wanted to do as a football-obsessed 8 year old?”. 

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Additional workshops included making giant Subbuteo players from 3d printed templates, creating prints from the skins of old footballs, screenprinting your own football kit, and a table football tournament.

The project was supported by Arts Council England, the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Fund, Malings Community Fund and National Lottery Community Fund.