New Exhibition at Mexico City’s Jumex Museum Draws Parallels Between Soccer and Art

Installation view “Football & Art: A Shared Emotion.” Museo Jumex, 2026. (Photo: Ramiro Chaves)

Contemporary art and soccer come across as two entities that couldn’t be more different from each other, particularly outside the U.S. The former is seen as upscale, highbrow, and usually within a museum setting among scholars. The latter is a popular pastime (whether being played or viewed), players can be aggressive, viewers can be rowdy, and people from all walks of life partake in it. But despite their differences, there are some surprising similarities. A new exhibition at Mexico City’s Jumex Museum, one the country’s top contemporary art institutions, draws parallels between the two.

Titled Football & Art: A Shared Emotion, the exhibit is part of the Host City Mexico City Cultural Corridor for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The show features paintings, sculptures, installations, photographs, and videos. This includes both artworks by legendary creatives like Jeff Koons, Juan O’Gorman, Francisco Toledo, and the recently deceased Pedro Friedeberg, as well as pieces commissioned specifically for this exhibition.

The show sets its sights on deciphering how soccer has evolved into a universal language, giving us a unique perspective to touch on themes of gender, community, identity, and politics. “I see soccer as a field of thought, critical and deliberative,” says Guillermo Santamarina, curator of the exhibit. “A playground for creativity. A universe that intertwines with art, sharing similar parameters, related challenges and achievements, and often, that same emotion: the feeling of being alive.”

The exhibition also offers a distinctively feminine look at soccer with works from Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide and Argentinian artist Marta Minujín. Meanwhile, Dechado de impedimentos (Sampler of obstacles), a commissioned embroidered piece by Sofía Echeverri, sheds light on the Mexico Women’s National Team from 1971, who made it to their World Cup finals but faced a lot of challenges along the way, from being paid significantly less than their male counterparts to the weight of gender roles placed on them, even by their own families.

Another commissioned piece that builds a bridge between past and present is Tribunas (Stands), a sculptural installation by art collective Tercerunquinto. The creatives repurposed dozens of seats salvaged from the recent renovation of the Azteca Stadium, which will hold the inaugural match on June 11, creating a public seating area out of something that once belonged in a private venue. This location, decorated with plaques boasting the names of Mexican soccer players past and present as a nod to collective memory and national identity, will host broadcasts of soccer matches as well as art, literary, and musical activities.

Football & Art: A Shared Emotion is currently running through July 26 at Jumex Museum in Mexico City. Admission is free. To learn more, visit Jumex Museum’s website.

A new exhibition at Mexico’s Jumex Museum explores the intersection between soccer and contemporary art.

Installation view “Football & Art: A Shared Emotion.” Museo Jumex, 2026. (Photo: Ramiro Chaves)

Titled Football & Art: A Shared Emotion, the exhibit is part of the Host City Mexico City Cultural Corridor for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Graciela Iturbide
“Sin título, Roma, Italia,” 2007
[Untitled]
Courtesy of the artist

The exhibition sets its sights on deciphering how soccer has evolved into a universal language.

Installation view “Football & Art: A Shared Emotion.” Museo Jumex, 2026. (Photo: Ramiro Chaves)

“I see soccer as a field of thought, critical and deliberative,” says Guillermo Santamarina, curator of the exhibit. “A playground for creativity.”

Installation view “Football & Art: A Shared Emotion.” Museo Jumex, 2026. (Photo: Ramiro Chaves)

The show features artworks by legendary creatives, as well as pieces commissioned specifically for this exhibition.

Iñaki Bonillas, Detail of “My sun one early morn did shine,” 2025 -2026
Project based on 72 photographs from the Colección y Archivo Fundación Televisa for the exhibition ‘Football & Art. A shared emotion,' Museo Jumex

Among the artists featured are Jeff Koons, Juan O’Gorman, Francisco Toledo, Graciela Iturbide, Marta Minujín, and the recently deceased Pedro Friedeberg.

Marta Minujín
“Mi Mundial,” 1977
[My World Cup]
Colección Fundación KLEMM, Buenos Aires

Football & Art: A Shared Emotion is now open through July 26 at Jumex Museum in Mexico City.

Installation view “Football & Art: A Shared Emotion.” Museo Jumex, 2026. (Photo: Ramiro Chaves)

Exhibition Information:
Football & Art: A Shared Emotion
March 28–July 26,2026
Jumex Museum
Blvd. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 303, Mexico City, Mexico

Museo Jumex: Website

All images via Museo Jumex.

Related Articles:

19 Soccer-Inspired Exhibits Are Opening in Mexico City During the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Mexican Artist Displays 40 Years of Work Blurring the Lines Between Art and Object in New Museum Exhibit

Drone Captures Amazing Views of Crowds Celebrating World Cup Win in Argentina

Lionel Messi’s World Cup Instagram Post Is Now the Most-Liked Ever