The World Cup has well and truly begun. By the time you read this England may have already played twice. After a 6-2 win, it's hard not to be more excited now. This week we have a well being day, and I hope you will all use it to help with your own well being, whether that be relaxing at home, organising your spaces, or even doing work, so you can relax over the weekend, make the most of it. This week's blog ensures the more serious stories of the world cup are referenced but we explore architecture, history of kits, fashion trends, as well as artists who use football to inspire some great social media content. I hope you enjoy it.
FOOTBALL STADIUM DESIGN
With all the terrible news surrounding the World Cup stadium build projects it is easy to forget was amazing spaces they can be.
In Qatar, the infrastructure that has gone into building the World Cup has made it the most polluting World Cup ever, despite claiming to be the greenest. FiFA said yesterday only 3 people died, making the stadiums but that ignored the thousands who have died making all the other buildings that were built for the World Cup, such as the airport, hotels and port. Workers rights were horrendous, with a rule saying you couldn't change jobs, so the employer basically owned you. This has improved, since the spotlight was placed onto Qatar, yet they still deny many of the deaths and it seems only the more wealthy and western workers death are acknowledged. There is another very interesting football weekly podcast that explains it all. Well worth a listen.
We can continue to support the workers of Qatar, however the next World Cup is in the USA and again it will mainly be migrant workers making the stadium and infrastructure. Will the spotlight be on them in the same way? The media and us have to make sure it is.
Many of the most impressive buildings in the world are sporting arenas, they are the centre piece of an event and sometimes, unfortunately, a white elephant for the country or city after the event if not designed well.
New technologies are allowing more interesting shapes and lighting and sound engineering can ensure the experience if vibrant, exciting or even intimidating.
Back when the, then, Reebok Stadium was built it was a great modern bowl. Watching these videos will show you how they are now environmentally conscious, comfortable and despite being huge, the views are better than ever.
Many of the world's best architects have designed stadia around the world they are highly prestigious showcases for interesting design. Why not go and explore some yourself.
Tifo: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE FOOTBALL JERSEY
Another good Tifo Video, pretty self explanatory, but a good insight into the ideas and technologies that have gone into some of the most famous kits around.
EXHIBITION: DANDY STYLE
Footballers are well known for their often flamboyant clothing choices. Who can forget Beckham's Sarong or Liverpool's White suits ( All, I think before you were born) so Mo Salah in GQ and Hector Bellerin in, everything he ever wears. There are some very stylish guys out there.
Manchester Art Gallery have a new exhibition looking at Dandy style in Men's Fashion. A Dandy is defined as a person, usual male, who likes to be defined by their, often eccentric, physical appearance.
The exhibition has a wide range of creative expressions in the Dandy Style, from Painting to Fashion to Video. It even got a great segment on North West Tonight, that really explains the ideas they are trying to portray.
Go and have a visit, it's a fantastic exploration of the theme from historical context and contemporary uses, just as your own projects should be.
A couple of years ago The Tate in London had an Aubrey Beardsley exhibition, he was, very much a Dandy, this video develops ideas on Style and contemporary culture, Drag Kings and Fashion.
SOCIAL MEDIA: @jonpaulsballs
TikToker, Instagrammer and Youtuber, Jon-Paul creates footballs of interesting and intricate designs. His Instagram reels show the processes involved and the meanings he imbues into each ball.
There are some great ones, the Steven Gerrard ball, made from Adidas Predators, was then picked but by Adidas and he was invited to meet the German National Team.
The videos are well editted and loop around really well. It goes to show if you have an interest and are passionate about it and share what you do, people are enthused and opportunities open up.
What skills do you have that you could develop into a interesting side project and a potential career.
SHOP: UNI TOM
Unitom in Manchester is a creative space, part cafe, part magazine shop, part gallery. If you want a magazine this is the place for you.
All subjects and niches are covered, an absolute must for the graphic designers to see some of the best publications available at this moment, but all of you need to be regularly visiting to see the many different ways your creative work can be used.
TV: IMAGINE: SONYA BOYCE
Sonya Boyce is one of Britians best living artists, we have featured her in previous blogs and hilighted her documentary Who ever heard of a black artist, a couple of weeks ago. This is a new programme on the BBC documents the process of constructing her history making show at the Venice Biennale, as she becomes the first black Woman to represent Great Britain in the Art world's centre piece festival.