Butler Gallery and Kilkenny Arts Festival present a thematic exhibition exploring how artists have captured the spirit of sport in their work conveyed through disparate mediums such as video, photography, painting, print and sculpture. The exhibition features an eclectic fusion of both Irish and international artists that will populate our Main Gallery. A short programme of archive sport films, curated by Irish Film Institute, will be presented in the Digital Gallery and will run throughout the exhibition.

Sport is a global language that communicates positively with a broad audience. This exhibition does not profess to take on sport as a whole, and does not include some of the more obvious of choices. Rather, the selection attempts to showcase art of substance, grace and beauty—work that draws on elements of sport that stimulate and challenge the viewer.

Wide-ranging work by artists from Ireland, Denmark, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and the USA are included along with museum loans of work by Irish artists such as Charles Brady, Louis le Brocquy and Elinor Wiltshire.