Murals & Public Art
Sports Facilities, Leiden.
ARTvertisements was commissioned to create artworks for several new sports facilities in Leiden. The digitally developed collages incorporate existing imagery from archives and image banks, as well as photographs provided by photographers, sports clubs and other sources.
The project brought together the perspectives of three key parties: the City of Leiden, the architects and the sports clubs that would ultimately use the facilities. The challenge was to translate these different perspectives into a coherent visual concept, while taking into account the architectural design, colour palette and identity of each location.
As part of the participatory process, the sports clubs were invited to share their ideas, values, history and visual material. The sessions revealed that guidance, recreation and enjoyment were considered just as important as sporting achievement. Recognition of each club’s identity and history also played an important role.
The City of Leiden wanted the artworks to create a welcoming sense of recognition for visitors, while the architects had a clear vision for the colours, design and styling in relation to the overall interior.
Ultimately, the human silhouette became the visual basis for the designs. A silhouette has no specific identity and can therefore represent anyone. Each silhouette was filled with photographs provided by the participating sports clubs, creating two visual narratives: one through the shape of the figure itself and another through the imagery contained within it.