The GGWCUP arena. The Herstory Arena
New steps towards the realization of an equal and inclusive space for women’s sports.
With the Herstory Arena, we want to make room for women's voices and personal interpretations to create a vision of a future where sport and sustainable development is truly owned by everyone.
A special thank you to Bo Benzon & Arkitekturministeriet @arkitekturministeriet_ampd for helping construct a word class arena!
Where play and activation is central
In 2019 we started the conversation with previous GGWCUP players and players in the GGWCUP Europe in May 2019 in Copenhagen to find out what they loved about sport, what was their memories and could we create a space that would bring back or bring out those experiences like inclusive, playful, important, activation, powerful, peaceful, loving, connected.
We started creating this Arena by asking female players three questions:
What motivates me … What makes me joyful … What is important for me to be comfortable and feel secure:
… when doing sports?
… when getting together with my team?
… when engaging with the crowd?
This arena is an ever-evolving arena - and we will keep asking the GGWCUP players and audience to share their unique stories and transform them into beautiful illustrations adorning future GGWCUP events and arenas.
Welcome to the GGWCUP Herstory Arena - an arena for life and togetherness.
Let there be play.
Spaces shapes behavior
A Herstory Arena will give a new experiencing of a sporting event.
Change the social norms of how to behave at a sporting event.
Give the players and audience ownership of the event and space • open and create dialog with alternative sponsors.
Help to built alternativ sport event partnerships.
More women will join the event and bring their kids, friends & family • create a safer and more playful space for the players.
Guide decision makers to optimize the city’s use of existing spaces • push and guide the general perspective of city development.
Introduce the Global Goals to the decision-makers and city planners • the GGWCUP event will reach a broader audience.
“We are raising awareness on something positive that has the potential to change the world for good. ”
“We want our spaces and areas to be open and inclusive. Many women feel sports arenas are confined and exclude them as players and audience. That is often the reason they don’t even go. In Copenhagen the arena was open with grandstands that were L shaped.”
Re-arrange city spaces to reach the Goals
We want to make strides towards Global Goals 3, 5 and 11 by strengthening women’s active participation in public spaces and their inclusion and engagement in sport, in a way which promotes women’s ownership and influence over the sustainable development agenda.
Our focus is on the following concrete Global Goals and targets:
Global Goal 3.4: Reduce mortality from non-communicable diseases and promote mental health and well-being.
Global Goal 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
Global Goal 5.5: Insure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making.
Global Goal 11.7: Provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces.
“I think that my energy loves to be challenged minute-by-minute. In a game or sport event, I constantly have to find opportunities. And I have to quickly forgive my mistakes! In other parts of life, that process can take days, weeks or even years. In sports, every moment is a new chance to try. Also, using my body in an active way feels natural and powerful to me, at every age!”
Sports is owned by everyone
What are the voices and images that are missing in our way of speaking of, and seeing sport and the spaces where we play?
The Herstory Arena seeks to tackle the physical manifestation of this by transforming the physical arena space into one which reflects women's voices and interpretations, to create a vision of a future where sport is truly owned by everyone.
We have interviewed GGWCUP players about their experiences and translated their voices into illustrative stories in order to create a new arena, which is reflective of the motivations and dreams of women who play. What do we see? What might we change in conventional sports spaces to make room for greater diversity? How are female athletes perceived and portrayed in media and the general discourse today? Does it align with how they see themselves?
This is a few of the stories our players shared of their greatest triumphs, joys and motivations of their sports experiences.
To transform the players stories of their sports experiences into an arena, we asked Illustrator and concept developer Jette Svane to help us turn the quotes into illustrations and had them printed on sustainable fabrics, which was hung and constructed to create the arena. Jette has worked as a designer and consultant for a variety of national and international corporations and organizations and taught design at the Danish Technological Institute and DMJX, the Danish School of Media and Journalism.
The trophy is created by Arkitekturministeriet, Denmark, with a focus on sustainability from a to z. It is milled wood and weights close to nothing. The trophy is hand painted with both gold, silver and bronze. All team players on the winning team got a trophy.
“In my country, I couldn’t even watch football, it’s not allowed to women. But here, not only can I enjoy watching football, I can actually play. At last I feel free!”
Herstory Arena printet on demand
As a partner and country host you will have acces to all print ready files and a design and brand guide to make the needed adjustments and make sure to capture the GGWCUP spirit and illustrations.
The illustrations shown in the gallery (right) are not in correct proportions/cuts.
The pictures underneath are from GGWCUP Prague May 29, 2019. Photo © Aktualne.cz / Jakub Plihal.
The sound of the Herstory Arena
What is a safe space? What is a safe place for during sports?
At the GGWCUP Europe in Copenhagen May 14th 2019 we asked Curarum if they would help us capture the audience views on safe spaces.
Listen in and hear their answers. Only in Danish.
This page and Herstory Arena has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents are the sole responsibility of EIR/GGWCUP and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.