Football is a truly global sport; a game that can mean so much, to so many people. In a World Cup year, when all eyes turn to Brazil, The Pride and the Passion is an exhibition curated in QUAD which documents the essence of ‘the football crowd’ and ‘the football icon’, documenting the energy, politics, tribalism, and zeal of the fan, and the status and impact of the hero figure, through a range of film, sculptural and photographic works.

QUAD has commissioned a number of artists to make a series of exciting new works for the exhibition, including Cairo based Irish artist Ronnie Close’s film work ‘More Out of Curiosity’ that focuses on Egyptian ‘Ultras’ football fans; US born Jordan Baseman will be making a new work based on interviews with Derby County legend Roger Davies, and Nottingham based artists Nick Wright & Joe Kelly will be making a interactive old-school playable arcade game ‘Fancade’ based on the 1990s computer game ‘Sensible Soccer’.

The Pride and the Passion also features a substantial amount of archival images and artefacts relating to Derby County Football Club, one of the oldest clubs in the world and one of the founder members of the Football League, in collaboration with The Derby County Collection. The supporters of a football club, regardless of which part of the globe they reside, are the life essence of the game. They contribute financially by buying their match ticket and a cornucopia of club products. They stand – or sit – and chant and sing and urge their team to win, no matter the weather, no matter the occasion. They wear their raw, partisan emotion like a badge of honour, yet they can come together from a nation of disparate club sides to support as one their national team. They worship at stadia likened to temples, and idolise their players, their manager, hero figures who are beyond reproach.

The exhibition features work by artists: Gad Salner, Jaskirt Dhaliwal, Jordan Baseman, Stuart Roy Clarke, Jeanette Elhers, Ravi Deepres, Ronnie Close, Julie Henry & Debbie Bragg, Victoria Hall, Nick Wright & Joe Kelly, LS Lowry and The Derby County Collection.