Just in time for both the World Series and the November elections, the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) will open its next Mega-Exhibition, a sports-themed show entitled Good Sports: The Wisdom & Fun of Fair Play, on Oct. 13.
Located on the second floor of the museum’s main building, the exhibit will weave together art created by global and local visionary artists focused on sports and play imagery, as well as film, photography, sculpture, sports medicine factoids and quotes reflecting the wisdom of sports legends.
“AVAM’s 29th investigates humanity’s enduring preoccupation with sports – from the Coliseum to the backyard – to arrive at a better comprehension of our human nature,” states a posting on the museum’s website, avam.org. “Herein we praise the capacity of sports to impart important ethical lessons of fairness and civility, such as being a gracious winner and never a sore loser.”
Curated by Gage Branda, the exhibit will feature works such as the intricately-painted baseballs of George Sosnak (1924-1992), fascinating to-scale cardboard monuments of Kambel Smith, and the “hypnotic needlework” of AVAM fan-favorite Deborah Berger(1956–2005).
“Good Sports brings a wide and creative view of both the history and current state of sports — one full of fun, wisdom, and passion — all to exalt sports as one of humankind’s most fabulous avenues for becoming our very best selves,” AVAM’s website states.
The exhibit will investigate humanity’s enduring preoccupation with competitive athleticism in an effort to better understand human nature, offering an innovative perspective on what it means to be a “good sport.” It has been designed, the museum said in an announcement about the show, to give students of all ages a chance “to glean a renewed sense of healthy competition in an unconventional environment — among artwork that inspires curiosity, growth, and thinking outside the box.”
While praising the capacity of sports to impart important ethical lessons of fairness and civility, the announcement states, “this exhibition will not ignore the dark underbelly of competition and its potential for corruption: rigging, drugging, greed, gambling, injury, exclusion, and woeful race and gender discrimination. AVAM has always challenged its visitors to engage with its exhibitions in a way that leads to positive transformation, broader perspectives, and a stronger sense of intersectional unity—this exhibition is no exception.”
“In a time with such division,” Branda said in a statement, “it is my hope that in some small way this exhibition encourages people to continue to respect their ‘rivals’ and treat any field of engagement—from a race for the last parking spot in the lot, to a race for the gold in the Olympics—with grace.”
AVAM is located at 800 Key Highway in Baltimore. After an Exhibition Opening Party on Oct. 13 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Good Sports will be on view there until Aug. 31, 2025. More information about Good Sports is available at avam.org.
The World Series starts Oct. 25 and may go until Nov. 2, depending how many games are played. The general election is Nov. 5.
