UEFA Women's EUROS 2022
Design Competition
At the beginning of the year, the ArtWorks artists designed a competition to celebrate the UEFA Women's EUROS 2022. They invited everyone in Sheffield and the local areas to take part. The winning artwork has been selected from an incredible range of designs and it is now in place in Sheffield City Centre.
Through collaboration with Sheffield F.C. and Football Unites, Racism Divides, the ArtWorks artists produced a short documentary of stories collected from female football players through a series of interviews:
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The public was invited to create artwork in response to the video. We have received an amazing selection of designs which included paintings, drawings and digital artwork. Scroll down to find out a little bit more about each winning artwork and the pieces made by our in-house artists which form part of the installation.
Where you can find the blocks:
Competition Winners
Emma Beaumont
"I am a Landscape Architect, an artist and member of Sheffield based feminist campaign Our Bodies Our Streets. OBOS is a Sheffield based feminist campaign empowering women to exercise outdoors without fear of harassment. I have a passion for public art and inclusive design.
I was so delighted to hear that the Women's Euros would be held in our city this summer! As was mentioned in the video, I think it's so vital that women support women in order to elevate the women's game and to change the societal attitudes towards women and girls playing football.
My submission is inspired by a quote from the video that really stuck with me. One of the footballers talked about how she grew up playing football but at the time people didn't think that girls "should or could" play football. The design plays on this and blocks out the negative words to make a statement that girls CAN and SHOULD play football. It aims to attract people's attention and be inspiring to women and girls."
Instagram: @paulandwall
Paul Burgin
"I think having Women’s Euro’s matches in Sheffield is a fantastic idea and great exposure for the sport.
With more and more people suffering from mental health, I think team sports and clubs is a great way to help those affected, offering a place to be welcomed along with many other benefits. With the additional exposure this tournament can bring, this will help reach further female audiences to those interested and wanting to be involved. I see this as a positive step forward not only for Sheffield but for women and sports.
I chose this design with the above in mind, girls and goals, for obvious reasons on the football side, but also women’s individual goals, such as making friendships, building confidence, and improving social skills, as well as fitness."
Sarah Choonara
"My painting is called "It's more than just kicking a ball".
The EUROS showcases the rich talent of women's football, but it is mirrored in the rich talent and passion we see in women playing football at all levels. We can get our inspiration from those playing at the highest levels and those we share a pitch with for a local kickabout. I am truly inspired by the girls and women at FURD, some of whom I pay tribute to in the picture, and with whom I have kicked countless footballs over the last 10 years.
From grassroots to internationals, from veterans to beginners, we are one footballing world. Let's celebrate it together."
Helen Drake
Instagram: @_helendrake
"I'm so excited for the Euros 2022. It is brilliant to see the visibility of women's football rising and I'm sure this year's Euros will bring even more momentum to the game. It's great that the games are coming to our very own South Yorkshire!"
Gavin Singleton
Instagram: @gavinsingletonart
"The Women's Euros 2022 is a great opportunity to show women's football to a larger audience, and break down barriers within the sport."
In-house Artwork
Malin Bridge Group
"We were very excited about the opportunity to contribute towards the welcoming of the UEFA Women's EUROS 2022 to Sheffield. We watched the video produced by our fellow artists and talked about how it made us feel. A common theme that was noticed during this conversation was the mutual support, encouragement and inclusive atmosphere that the industry has.
The next step was to interpret this feedback into a visual form. The statement of women supporting women emerged leading to the visual interpretation of women in the crowd as well as on the pitch. From the interviews it was clear that this is what is needed for the industry to be able to grow and continue breaking through this male led sport. "
SOAR Group
"Our artwork is inspired by the quote from the video, “I absolutely love coaching, passing on my knowledge”. It is inspired by how football is passed on as a skill, both through families and communities. Through this sport people are brought together, learning skills that can be transferred into their everyday life.
We chose to include flags from around the world, not just Europe, because although the UEFA games have set geographical boundaries, we believe that the power of football is universal. Each flag has been constructed from abstract drawings and paintings created by our artists, digitally manipulated into the correct forms on the flags. The drawing in the middle shows two figures passing a football to each other as a symbol of passing on skills and knowledge. We hope to continue seeing women’s football expanding in the future through the sharing of knowledge with younger generations!"
Thorpe Hesley Group
"Our design consists of several images which have been hand drawn by our artists and then digitised to create the graphic composition. The hexagon pattern is of course inspired by the shapes on a football and the swirls of colour inside some of the hexagons are from an abstract painting created by our artists using the UEFA Women's colours. To balance these busy focal points, the remainder of the shapes have been filled with subtle green stripes which resemble a football pitch."
This project was made possible thanks to funding from
