Jerusalem Design Week sports a World Cup, Maccabiah Games theme

There’s a focus on sports this summer, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 22nd Maccabiah Games, which led designers and artists to explore the intersection of sports and design in Jerusalem Design Week.

The event, titled “Victory Gate,” is taking place July 9 through July 16 at the capital’s historic Hansen House.

It’s an apt name for the event that opens at the grand entrance of the two-story former leprosy asylum designed by German architect Conrad Schick and established in the late 1800s by the Protestant community of Jerusalem.

Vibrant banners hang from the building’s roof, with colorful stadium seating alongside the entrance, mimicking the bleachers used to seat fans.

Inside and outside, in the gardens and galleries of the main building, artists have explored the ideas of winning, competition and sports membership in team colors, symbols, flags, sportswear and stadiums, in the event curated by Sonia Olitsky and Roni Azgad Hamburger and managed by Smadar Tzuk and Ran Wolf.

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Visitors can explore different interpretations of familiar sports such as an alternative basketball hoop or covered ping-pong in the Hansen House yard installations.

The indoor galleries host various exhibits, including one examining trophies and how they could evolve and appear given recent historic events and issues.

Another exhibit includes a machine that spits out sunflower seeds at viewers, mimicking the popularity of the snack at Israeli soccer games.

One video installation pits a screen of red-clad fans of one of Israel’s Hapoel soccer teams, known for historic values tied to the working class and socialism, against the opposing screen featuring Beitar Jerusalem fans, a team known for right-wing nationalism and accusations of racism.

Another gallery features a poster project by Bezalel Academy, the Maccabiah and Ben-Gurion University, with a look at how posters for the games could have looked over the decades.

A collection of soccer team uniforms suggests designs of different forms and shapes, given players’ and fans’ varying interests.

Entrance to Jerusalem Design Week is free, and with the Jerusalem Film Festival taking place simultaneously, a free shuttle is operating between Hansen House and the Jerusalem Cinemathèque, which hosts the screenings.

Design Week includes an extensive public program of screenings, performances, talks, and music, with a schedule available on the Design Week website and a pop-up shop by design store As Promised.

Tours of the exhibits and projects will take place every day at 3 p.m., through Thursday, conducted in Hebrew, and at the cost of NIS 90 per person.

Jerusalem’s Flora Pizza is hosting the food court at the event, open every day until 11 p.m.

There’s also a sports bar for watching FIFA World Cup games, open until 11 p.m. every night, and a VIP martini bar on the Hansen House terrace.