At U.K.’s football museum, African artists take a 'Space'

In the spirit of the growing football frenzy across Africa, 11 West African artists have found a space in the home of the world’s most exciting league, England. 

It’s a group show titled Moving Into Space: Football And Art In West Africa, which opened on last week, showing till December 31, 2012 at National Football Museum, Urbis Building, Cathedral Gardens, Manchester.

Artists featuring include Romuald Hazoumè, Gérard Quenum (Benin), Abdoulaye Konaté (Mali), Pascale Marthine Tayou’s (Cameroon), Nigerian photographers and a painter Andrew Esiebo, Uche-James Iroha and Uchay Joel Chima; Owusu-Ankomah, Atta Kwami’s, Godfried Donkor and George Afedzi Hughes (Ghana)

The organizers explain: “While football has become a worldwide phenomenon, in West Africa it has worked its way into the very fabric of society, from the street games of children to the large amounts spent on national teams by governments seeking electoral advantage. In Moving Into Space: Football and Art in West Africa, eleven contemporary artists use football to explore wider social issues including those of globalisation and trade, gender relationships, corruption and violence.”