Giant, beautiful soccer balls are popping up around New York City

From joining a stranger to cheer on a team to sharing a bench when admiring a painting, there are few things that bring people together quite like art and sports. Now, as the World Cup begins, both forces are coming together in a public sculpture installation across New York and New Jersey. Bassim al Shaker sculpture at Exchange Place [Photo: courtesy ARTS 14C] Titled The Art of The Game, the exhibition consists of sculptures by 23 internationally renowned artists like Futura 2000, Hank Willis Thomas, and Taína H. Cruz. Each figure is adorned with a steel soccer ball sculpture measuring six feet in diameter in their signature style. It’s 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 pieces are installed across the five boroughs and northern New Jersey and will be on view through Labor Day. Futura 2000 [Photo: Jennifer Brown/City of Jersey City/courtesy ARTS 14C] New Jersey and New York are among the 16 cities across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada that are hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It’s not just national soccer teams who are competing in the tournament; cities are engaged in a friendly contest on who can become the most welcoming host to the thousands of people attending the matches. Public art is one of their secret weapons — and is spiritually aligned with the cultural exchange the games represent. Katherine Bernhardt [Photo: Megan Maloy/courtesy ARTS 14C] “The joy art and sports bring is hard to quantify but they make life worth living,” says Robinson Holloway, CEO and Founder of ARTS 14C. “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.” Mario Ayala at Grand Central Pershing Square [Photo: Megan Maloy/courtesy ARTS 14C] Beyond being a temporary exhibit with roots in the World Cup, The Art of The Game also reimagines what ripple effects of a large sporting event can look like. Big tournaments like the World Cup or the Olympics are notoriously a financial and infrastructure burden to host cities, often leaving behind neglected infrastructure—known as the White Elephant effect—and debt for residents to deal with. Gabriel Lester at Paseo Park [Photo: Megan Maloy/courtesy ARTS 14C] The artists, both local and international, were sourced via an open call or nominated by leaders in some of the area’s most important art institutions including the MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, El Museo del Barrio, the Brooklyn Museum, David Zwirner Gallery, and Pace. Agnes Gund, the arts philanthropist, helped fund the project. It was one of her last collaborations before her death in 2025. Wyatt Kahn at Gotham Park [Photo: Megan Maloy/courtesy ARTS 14C] “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,” Alex Lasry, CEO of the New York New Jersey Host Committee, said in a press statement. The exhibition was inspired in part by the Fabergé Big Egg Hunt, a charity fundraiser. While the team wanted to create 104 balls, one per match played in the tournament, they eventually narrowed the number down to 23 in celebration of the 23rd edition of the World Cup. Each sculpture is made from aluminum panels and was fabricated and assembled between Powerhouse Arts, in Brooklyn, and Mana Contemporary, in Jersey City. Some artists, like Katherine Bernhardt, opted to adorn the pieces with paint, while others, like Tomokazu Matsuyama, used UV printing to embellish them with high resolution graphics. Bony Ramirez at MetLife Stadium. [Photos: Megan Maloy/courtesy ARTS 14C] After the games are over, the exhibition organizers plan to donate or sell the sculptures and would like to see at least 12 of them installed permanently on public sites, allowing residents to continue interacting with the pieces even after all is said and done. 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.”