Football and art fans will no doubt welcome an ambitious new series of works due to adorn the exterior of the Emirates stadium in north London, home to Arsenal football club. The series of eight works will incorporate designs by the art star Jeremy Deller, drawing on the club’s 137-year history and diverse representation of players and fans.
Together with a group of more than 100 Arsenal supporters, Turner prizewinner Deller, the artist Reuben Dangoor, and graphic designer David Rudnick, led the design process during a series of consultations which began in April 2022, says a project statement.
The commissioned pieces include Invincible which highlights two of Arsenal’s headline-hitting glories: the women’s Champions League winning team of 2006/07 and the men’s all-conquering Premier League season of 2003/04. Eighteen Eighty-Six by Deller meanwhile symbolises “Arsenal’s constant pursuit of progress from the club’s founding year in Woolwich through to its courageous move to north London in 1913 and beyond,” say the organisers.
Deller says in a statement: “The final artwork is a product of the collaboration and hard work of so many in the Arsenal community and it adds another layer to the rich history of this iconic corner of north London.” Installation of the works will begin today (12 January) and be completed over the coming weeks; an exhibition of the designs runs from 12 to 14 January at Candid Arts Trust in Islington.
