Ode to the unknown footballer

As the World Cup kicks off on 11 June, a new exhibition on the world's most popular sport opens at UCT's Michaelis Art Gallery.

Forsaking the 'football' moniker, Soccer Kultcha is an exhibition of street photography that explores footballers and their followers far beyond the glory of the main stadiums, where players use any field they can find, often using home-made balls and goalposts.

Curated by Paul Weinberg, Warren Nelson and Leanne Barling, in collaboration with the Michaelis Art Gallery, the exhibition features the work of street photographers and their insights into a form of football that is off the radar and the big screens, but on the South African cultural map.

The street photographers challenge official representations, focusing on outsiders who imagine the lives of others, highlighting how people photograph themselves, as seen through the lens of football. The viewer is invited to rediscover the game, and the lives and passions of ordinary people who play and celebrate it.

Soccer Kultcha is funded by the Embassy of Sweden and will exhibit until 10 July. For more information contact Nadja Daehnke at telephone 021 480 7170, cell 082 316 5272.

Download press release.