Dreams, tears and triumphs

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24 January 2017 – 5 March 2017

The special exhibition “Dreams, Tears and Triumphs – What Links Minis and Megastars” was curated by the agency firo sportphoto, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2017, and organised in collaboration with the Emschergenossenschaft. Forty-four large-format acrylic paintings depicted scenes from children’s and professional football. The images in the special exhibition reflected fundamental virtues such as role modelling, identification and humanity. Photographs of young players from the Emscher Junior Cup were juxtaposed with those of established Bundesliga stars, thereby creating an artistic connection between them. The agency’s owners, Ralf Ibing and Jürgen Fromme, have won numerous national and international photography awards, including the ‘Sports Photo of the Year’ award in Germany four times, in 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2011.

Jürgen Fromme said: “The photographs of children’s football provide inspiration for our work in the big stadiums. All the images were captured spontaneously; none of them were staged. The parallels in gestures, facial expressions and movements between the stars and the young up-and-coming talents are astonishing.”

Ralf Ibing added: “Children imitate their idols. This is evident in the way they celebrate, in their preparations for a free-kick, but also in how they interact with the referee or their team-mates. We’ve selected images that are almost identical. You could say they’re mirror images.”

Museum director Manuel Neukirchner had been considering a collaboration with the agency owners for some time. “Firo is simply part of the local football scene. Their images aren’t merely vehicles for information; they often have an artistic quality too. The exhibition illustrates the importance of children’s and youth football as the foundation for professional sport. In a way that is both amusing and thought-provoking, the images scrutinise the role of football idols as role models.”

At the exhibition opening, former football stars Teddy de Beer, Ingo Anderbrügge and Yves Eigenrauch were prominent guests in conversation with legendary presenter Werner Hansch.