As the 2026 World Cup begins, “The Art of The Game” is placing 23 steel soccer-ball sculptures—six feet wide—in public across New York and northern New Jersey through Labor Day, a project led by ARTS 14C with the New York New Jersey Host Committee as cities co
By the time the World Cup kicks off, New York and New Jersey will already be surrounded by something you can’t ignore: giant steel soccer balls, turned into public art.
Titled “The Art of The Game,” the exhibition is a sculpture installation spanning the five boroughs and northern New Jersey. Each figure is adorned with a steel soccer ball sculpture measuring six feet in diameter. rendered in the signature styles of 23 internationally renowned artists. The pieces will be on view through Labor Day.
The sculptures are installed as part of a collaboration between ARTS 14C. a Jersey-based nonprofit devoted to lowering barriers in the arts. and the New York New Jersey Host Committee of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The project brings together a mix of artists—such as Futura 2000, Hank Willis Thomas, and Taína H. Cruz—and aims to make art and sports feel like neighbors rather than separate worlds.
“The joy art and sports bring is hard to quantify but they make life worth living,” Robinson Holloway, CEO and Founder of ARTS 14C, said. “The World Cup is a brief break for a lot of people, it’s a chance to celebrate the best of humanity and the best of community, just like public art.”
The installation arrives while New York and New Jersey—two of the 16 U.S. Mexico. and Canada host cities—prepare for a tournament that is also. in a quieter way. a competition over hospitality. Cities are vying to become the most welcoming hosts to the thousands of people attending matches. and public art is being treated as one of the tools for earning that reputation.
Big sporting events can carry a heavy cost for host cities. The exhibition’s organizers point to the “White Elephant effect. ” where neglected infrastructure remains after the spectacle. along with debt residents may end up carrying. “The Art of The Game” is designed as an alternative legacy—one that tries to translate global attention into cultural exchange and community space rather than only short-term spending.
Artists were sourced through an open call or nominated by leaders in major area institutions. including MoMA. the Metropolitan Museum of Art. the Whitney Museum. El Museo del Barrio. the Brooklyn Museum. David Zwirner Gallery. and Pace. The project also had support from Agnes Gund. the arts philanthropist. who helped fund it; this was one of her last collaborations before her death in 2025.
Alex Lasry. CEO of the New York New Jersey Host Committee. framed the project as a way to match the scale of the moment. “The World Cup is going to put an enormous global spotlight on our region. and we saw this as a chance to bring together artists whose work can reflect the scale. energy. and diversity of this moment. ” Lasry said in a press statement.
The path to the final number of sculptures came with its own story. The exhibition was inspired in part by the Fabergé Big Egg Hunt, a charity fundraiser. While the team initially wanted to create 104 balls—one per match in the tournament—the project narrowed down to 23 sculptures. chosen to celebrate the 23rd edition of the World Cup.
The physical build was split between two locations: the sculptures were fabricated and assembled between Powerhouse Arts. in Brooklyn. and Mana Contemporary. in Jersey City. The materials and finishing choices vary by artist. Katherine Bernhardt opted to adorn the pieces with paint. while Tomokazu Matsuyama used UV printing to embellish them with high-resolution graphics.
Once the games are over, the organizers plan to donate or sell the sculptures. They also want at least 12 of them installed permanently on public sites, so residents can keep encountering the works even after the World Cup ends.
Lasry added, “we also want this initiative to leave something behind after the final match is played—creating pieces and experiences that continue to live in neighborhoods and public spaces as part of the tournament’s lasting cultural legacy in New York and New Jersey.”
2026 FIFA World Cup public art New York New Jersey ARTS 14C New York New Jersey Host Committee sculpture exhibition steel soccer balls The Art of The Game Powerhouse Arts Mana Contemporary Fabergé Big Egg Hunt White Elephant effect Agnes Gund
So… where exactly are the giant balls lol.
This is actually kinda cool, like public art but still about the World Cup. Hopefully it doesn’t get vandalized already.
I mean it’s just soccer balls right? feels like a distraction from the whole “hospitality competition” thing. Like they’re spending money on art instead of fixing stuff in the city… maybe.
23 steel sculptures for Labor Day?? That sounds like a LOT of metal just sitting around. I saw Futura 2000 once and thought it was like graffiti, so I’m confused how these are “in his signature style” if it’s all just balls. Also northern NJ is always last for stuff like this, so I guess I’ll go check.