Between You and I #3

3 June – 5 September 2010

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Polder Cup is the latest site-specific project by Spanish artist Maider Lopez. The facade of Witte de With functions as an open call to participate in a one-day football championship, which takes place on September 4, 2010 in the polders of Ottoland (Municipality of Graafstroom).

Maider Lopez’s projects focus on the intriguingly humorous or the extraordinary behind the obvious and ordinary. Lopez 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. Unlike a typical football game, Lopez’s displaced football field intersected by water channels, challenges the rules of football and encourages players to seek and invent new strategies.

—Participants

Maider López

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, Lopez 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.

Between You and I is a joint project by SKOR and Witte de With taking place between the Fall of 2009 and the Fall of 2010. For this project, four international artists are commissioned to intervene on Witte de With’s facade in order to create a critical interface dealing directly with Rotterdam’s urban fabric. Between You and I strives 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.

Polder Cup is generously supported by the State Corporation for Spanish Cultural Action Abroad (SEACEX), the Directorate General for Cultural and Scientific Relations and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Stichting Doen, VSB Fonds and Cultuurfonds BNG. With thanks to the Municipality of Graafstroom, Ottoland and all supporting communities.