As an artist, I look for opportunities to challenge myself. That often means touching on taboo topics. Spaces like Contact have a great history of being a platform for pressing and complex issues. As the Artistic Director, I take pride in continuing that work. So, let’s get into it. The World Cup 2022.
One of my mantras is “lead with curiosity not judgement”. Which means asking a bunch of questions.
Question 1 – If Contact decided not to screen the World Cup, would it stop the World Cup from going ahead?
Question 2 – If Contact decided not to screen the World Cup, would it stop our audiences from coming together to discuss the complexity of Qatar hosting the cup?
Question 3 – If Contact decided not to screen the World Cup, would it stop our audiences from having an opportunity to learn more about the human rights landscape of Qatar?
Question 4 – If Contact decided not to screen the World Cup, would it stop our audiences from having an opportunity to learn about the decision-making processes in FIFA?
Question 5 – Does Contact providing a free, alternative space for audiences to watch and critique the World Cup mean we are giving money directly to the Qatar?
I’ll leave you to answer those yourself. My answers have led me to a conclusion that I am happy to share. I believe that a boycott of the World Cup will be a missed opportunity for us to get into some really important discussions. I have a bunch of questions that I want to pose to the people who want join us as we watch the matches. Such as:
- Why is it that I can only name Justin Fashnu and Jake Daniels as openly gay British footballers?
- If we had more openly gay footballers, would it put us in a better position to critique countries like Qatar that have explicit anti-homosexuality laws?
- What is the link between our colonial history and anti-homosexuality laws?
One of the reasons we are screening the World Cup is part of research for a play I am currently developing called 14%. It features a female footballer as the protagonist. It looks at football culture and how fans can have a sense of belonging. It highlights how various British sub-identities are quantified and compared in those spaces of belonging. How or why does your race, gender, religion, sexuality interact with the permission you are given to be an authentic football fan in Britain?
I believe that sport is very similar to the arts. It has the ability to hold a mirror up to the world. It’s not always pretty. But it gives us an opportunity look at ourselves and do some deep reflecting. No one wants to sit at home, feeling ugly, tweeting into a black hole of anger and confusion.
Bring your questions, frustrations and confusion to us. Let’s figure it out together. Coming?