Running through a museum gallery? Or rowing while admiring a painting? At first glance, sport and art seem to have little in common. But the Doorzetters exhibition proves that they have more in common than you might think. It’s not just about looking: visitors are encouraged to get moving. The exhibition also features a 24-hour painting marathon, a game of Chase Tag (tag 2.0) and an opening by top athlete Dafne Schippers on Saturday, 15 March. The opening will include various demonstrations by elite athletes.
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Katrin Korfmann, Homo Ludens Gravitation, 2010 Courtesy Katrin Korfmann & Bradwolff & Partners.
Movement as a Basis
Visitors to Doorzetters can explore sport through the lens of art: from an artist capturing the struggle of a marathon runner to a work focusing on the repetitive discipline of a swimmer. Movement often fuels creativity. This goes for visitors, too: the exhibition stimulates the body and mind through interactive elements, challenging workshops and opportunities for physical activity. The museum becomes a gym for the mind.
Challenges
Doorzetters is about more than just pretty pictures. The achievements of both athletes and artists also reflect the challenges they face. The exhibition explores several contemporary issues: How does sport reveal the colonial past? What does it tell us about gender and identity? And how do artists express these issues in their work? Thomas Verstraeten’s work illustrates how cricket, a Flemish sport, has travelled to England, Afghanistan and back to Antwerp. Jeroen Jongeleen walks for miles to highlight humanity’s footprint on Earth, while Yves Klein defies gravity as only a gymnast can.
Ebrahim Noroozi/AP, Vrouwelijke voetbalploeg in Kaboel, Afghanistan, 2022
Stefan Peters, Victim, 2014. Acrylic on linen, 40x30 cm. Collection of the artist.
Time for Action!
The exhibition will be accompanied by an action-packed programme of events including large-scale games of tag, boot camp in and around the museum, various sports clinics, a sports day in ’s-Hertogenbosch and an in-depth evening on sport and identity. A highlight will be the 100-m² Maakmarathon (Making Marathon) on 12 and 13 March, where artists will paint directly on the museum walls for 24 hours. The finished works will then be sold, with part of the proceeds going to charity.
Wanted: Doorzetters (Go-Getters)
In the run-up to the exhibition, Het Noordbrabants Museum is looking for doorzetters (go-getters). Visitors can decide who they are: they can nominate themselves or others via hnbm.nl/doorzetters. A jury chaired by Dafne Schippers will select the winners, who will receive a place of honour in the exhibition, a professional photo and video shoot and free entry to the opening ceremony. The deadline for nominations is 27 February.
