DERBY.- QUAD Gallery in Derby is focusing on football and art with new exhibitions featuring film and photographic works, as well as archival images and artefacts from Derby County Football club.

The Pride and the Passion: Contemporary Art, Football & the Derby County Collection opens on 6th June in QUAD Gallery and The Pride and the Passion: Derby County Football Club Through the Years and Grassroots: Artists Explore Lower League Football opened on 26th May in QUAD’s Extra Gallery Spaces. QUAD also announced an exciting new digital commission by digital artist Brendan Oliver, titled ‘Sporting Forms’, supported by Arts Council England, that will examine actual player data from the World Cup in Brazil.

Football is a truly global sport; a game that can mean so much, to so many people. In a World Cup year, when all eyes turn to Brazil, The Pride and the Passion is an exhibition curated by QUAD which documents the essence of ‘the football crowd’ and ‘the football icon’, documenting the energy, politics, tribalism, and zeal of the fan, and the status and impact of the hero figure, through a range of film and photographic works. The Pride and the Passion also features a substantial amount of archival images and artefacts relating to Derby County Football Club, one of the oldest clubs in the world and one of the founder members of the Football League, in collaboration with The Derby County Collection.

The supporters of a football club, regardless of which part of the globe they reside, are the life essence of the game. They contribute financially by buying their match ticket and a cornucopia of club products. They stand – or sit – and chant and sing and urge their team to win, no matter the weather, no matter the occasion. They wear their raw, partisan emotion like a badge of honour, yet they can come together from a nation of disparate club sides to support as one their national team. They worship at stadia likened to temples, and idolise their players, their manager, hero figures who are beyond reproach.

QUAD has commissioned a number of artists to make a series of exciting new works for the Gallery exhibition, including Cairo based Irish artist Ronnie Close’s film work ‘More Out of Curiosity’ which focuses on Egyptian ‘Ultras’ football fans; Nottingham based artists Nick Wright & Joe Kelly’s interactive old-school playable arcade game ‘Fancade’ based on the 1990s computer game ‘Sensible Soccer’. There are also five ‘Augmented Reality’ works, by digital artist Darius Powell, based on Derby County legends – including the brilliant managerial team of Brian Clough & Peter Taylor, and legendary striker Kevin Hector. Gallery visitors will be able to use an app to interact with static photographs that will come alive with video footage and facts about the icon in the image. We are also pleased to feature a selection of images by renowned photographer Stuart Roy Clarke from his series ‘Homes of Football’, and images of lower league football in Palestine/ Israel by Israeli artist Gad Salner. Other featured artists are: Stephen Dean, Jaskirt Dhaliwal, Jordan Baseman, Jeannette Ehlers, Ravi Deepres, Ronnie Close, Julie Henry & Debbie Bragg, Nick Wright & Joe Kelly, LS Lowry, Victoria Hall, Brendan Oliver and The Derby County Collection.The exhibition is curated by Peter Bonnell & Michael Sargeant in collaboration with The Derby County. The Pride and the Passion: Contemporary Art, Football & the Derby County Collection is on display in QUAD Gallery from 6th June until 7th September 2014.

Also on display in QUAD Extra Gallery Spaces as part of QUAD’s Football Season, The Pride and the Passion: Derby County Football Club Through the Years and Grassroots: Artists Explore Lower League Football. The former is an exhibition featuring striking and unique images relating to the proud history of Derby County Football Club in partnership with The Derby County Collection. Also included in a separate part of the exhibition is ‘Grassroots’ featuring images by contemporary artists of lower league football from an open call of emerging artists, and a new digital interactive exhibition. The Pride and the Passion: Derby County Football Club Through the Years and Grassroots: Artists Explore Lower League Football is on display in QUAD Extra Gallery Spaces from 26th May until 7th September 2014.