Polder Cup

Polder Cup was part of the Morality project’s Between You and I, a joint project by SKOR and Witte de With which took place between the Fall of 2009 and the Fall of 2010.

Polder Cup was a site-specific project by Spanish artist Maider López. The façade of Witte de With functioned as an open call to participate in a one-day football championship, which took place on September 4, 2010 in the polders of Ottoland (Municipality of Graafstroom).

Unlike a typical football game, López’s displaced football field intersected by water channels, challenged the rules of football and encouraged players to seek and invent new strategies. Not only does the location create an unusual situation, it reflects on the long Dutch history of fighting against water and the consensus society. With this project, López hopes to transform the function of the polders, going beyond its historical and agricultural uses, to host a public event held within the framework of a common sporting match. Through the participation of football players and audience from all walks of life, the polder will undergo a transformation in which its use can be opened up for new interpretations, challenging the way in which we perceive our spatial surroundings.

Maider López’s projects focus on the intriguingly humorous or the extraordinary behind the obvious and ordinary. López creates various events and situations for individuals to gather through a common language, in this case, football. Polder Cup becomes a moment where diverse groups of the society are brought together through play, sports and social exchange.

Polder Cup was part of Morality‘s Between You and I, a joint project by SKOR and Witte de With which took place between the Fall of 2009 and the Fall of 2010. For this project, four international artists were commissioned to intervene on Witte de With’s façade in order to create a critical interface dealing directly with Rotterdam’s urban fabric. Between You and I strived to open a space to reflect about morality today, inviting an active response by the public concerning the presence of contemporary art in public spaces.

Curated by SKOR (Stichting Kunst en Openbare Ruimte) & Witte de With (Center for Contemporary Art)

Featured artists: AES+F, Isa Genzken, Maider López and Ayse Erkmen.