Redesigning the Game: How SIDELINED Challenges Our Understanding of Sport
What if the very essence of sport—winning and losing—was no longer the point? This is the provocative question at the heart of Gabriel Fontana’s SIDELINED: A Space to Rethink Togetherness. Personally, I think this project is more than just an exhibition; it’s a radical invitation to reimagine the systems we take for granted. Fontana’s work, in collaboration with curator Amanda Pinatih, doesn’t just tweak the rules of sport—it dismantles them, asking us to reconsider what sport can be when it’s not about victory but about connection.
The Designed System We Never Question
One thing that immediately stands out is Fontana’s assertion that sport is a designed system. It’s a deceptively simple idea, but it’s transformative. We rarely pause to think about how stadiums, uniforms, or even the rules of the game are crafted. They’re just there, like the air we breathe. But what if these designs aren’t neutral? What if they encode values—competition, hierarchy, exclusion—that we’ve come to accept as natural?
From my perspective, this is where SIDELINED gets fascinating. By treating sport as a design problem, Fontana exposes its malleability. Take his alternative games: Multiform, Anonymous Allyship, and Fluid Field. In these games, teams aren’t fixed, uniforms evolve, and playing fields shift. The focus isn’t on outperforming others but on navigating uncertainty together. What this really suggests is that sport doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. It can be a space for collaboration, negotiation, and even queerness—not just as an identity, but as a method for challenging norms.
The Sports Bar as a Social Experiment
What makes this particularly fascinating is how SIDELINED extends beyond the playing field. The sports bar, a central element of the project, isn’t just a nod to sporting culture—it’s a microcosm of society. As Pinatih points out, sports bars are places where people either feel welcome or excluded. They reflect the divisions and connections of the world outside. By reimagining the sports bar as a space for inclusivity, SIDELINED asks: What kind of public spaces do we want to create?
In Rotterdam, where the project is currently installed at Nieuwe Instituut, this question takes on new urgency. Here, SIDELINED isn’t just a proposition—it’s part of everyday life. Visitors aren’t just observers; they’re participants, reshaping the installation through play and dialogue. This raises a deeper question: Can sport, often seen as a rigid institution, become a tool for social change?
The Politics of Play
A detail that I find especially interesting is how SIDELINED intertwines sport with politics. Luca Soudant’s sound work, built from recordings of Trans* Pride Berlin, and Alice Wong’s film reflections on sport as political resistance, remind us that sport has always been a site of struggle. It’s not just about physical prowess; it’s about who gets to participate, who gets celebrated, and who gets left on the sidelines.
If you take a step back and think about it, sport has long been a battleground for identity and power. From the Olympics to local community leagues, it’s a space where norms are enforced—and challenged. Fontana’s games, with their emphasis on fluidity and cooperation, offer a counter-narrative. They suggest that sport can be a place where we practice new ways of being together, where uncertainty isn’t a threat but an opportunity.
What This Means for the Future
In my opinion, SIDELINED is more than an art project; it’s a blueprint for reimagining systems. It challenges us to ask: Who are our institutions designed for, and who gets left out? Sport, like architecture or design, is a human creation—and that means it can be recreated. What many people don’t realize is that the rules of the game aren’t set in stone. They’re choices, and choices can be changed.
As SIDELINED continues to evolve, I’m curious to see how its ideas will ripple outward. Will we start to see more sports leagues that prioritize collaboration over competition? Will public spaces be redesigned to foster inclusivity rather than exclusion? One thing is certain: Fontana and Pinatih have thrown down the gauntlet. They’ve shown us that sport, like any designed system, can be a tool for togetherness—if we’re willing to rethink the rules.
Final Thoughts
Personally, I think SIDELINED is a wake-up call. It forces us to confront the systems we’ve inherited and ask whether they still serve us. Sport, at its core, is about human connection—but for too long, it’s been hijacked by the pursuit of victory. Fontana’s project reminds us that there’s another way. It’s not about abolishing competition entirely, but about reimagining what it means to play, to belong, and to win.
If you’re like me, you’ll walk away from SIDELINED with more questions than answers. And that’s the point. Because when we start questioning the systems we take for granted, we open the door to possibilities we never imagined.
