The Art of Football review – the cultural impact of our national sport

Liverpool, various venues
An exploration of the beautiful game, to coincide with the World Cup, unites design, music and photography

Craig Pennington is talking to me about society. “Football is a really interesting arena for thinking about how society interprets itself,” he says. “There are very few sporting or cultural entities that cross international boundaries, cross all cultures and have a direct impact on the way societies interpret themselves, and each other. Football does. And the World Cup is the most vivid focus of when that happens.”

We are in Liverpool, where Pennington lives. A veteran of the festival scene (he created the long-running Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia), Pennington is the driving force behind a four-week cultural celebration, The Art of Football, which is taking place during the World Cup in various spots across the city. Photography, graphic art and clothing are on display; diversity, politics and social change will be dissected. Plus there’s an all-dayer, Disco Socrates, with DJs and musicians presenting music from all 32 World Cup countries. (This is the only element of the festival that charges a fee; everything else is free, paid for by Liverpool city council, as part of the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of Liverpool being European City of Culture.) Even if football isn’t your thing, this really might be your thing.

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