Suzanne Lacy, Vivianne Miedema and Ali Riley
:quality(60)/https://publicydn4hdgozyjrg.blob.core.windows.net/public/dd/images/12_Players_Ali_Riley_Meg_Madison_Viv_Miedema_Katie_Zelem_and_Alyssa_Thompson_in_What_Do_Women_Footballers_Want_Photo_Mark_Thomas__Suzanne_Lacy_Courtesy_the_artist_and_Soup_Inc.cf7c176.jpg)
About the artwork
What do women (footballers) want? This is the question at the heart of a new five-channel film by pioneering American artist Suzanne Lacy, developed in collaboration with two icons of the game: Manchester City and Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema and Angel City Football Club and New Zealand captain Ali Riley. Together, they lead a bold inquiry into how women footballers impact society’s attitudes toward women – and how cultural perceptions and practices shape the way we see players and the sport itself.
Active since the early 1970s, Suzanne Lacy is a leading figure in socially engaged art. Her groundbreaking performances, installations and videos have addressed issues ranging from sexual violence and incarceration to ageing and labour. In 1991, she coined the term 'New Genre Public Art' to define an activist form of art that plays out in public space and comes from direct conversations with communities.
In this new work, Lacy turns her lens on football as a space where gender is expressed and society’s attitudes are reflected. Taking a question-driven approach, she filmed conversations with professional players and grassroots women’s teams in Manchester and Los Angeles. The film interrogates the very architecture of the sport: Who is it built for? Who is excluded? And what might it look like if reimagined entirely from the ground up by women?
Rather than offering answers or utopian alternatives, the film creates space for players to collectively reflect on their lived experiences – from workplace dynamics to relationships with fans – and the complicated visibility of women’s football within a male-dominated industry. The work reframes football as a powerful tool for rethinking how gender operates in public life. What do Women (Footballers) Want? has been realised with Manchester filmmaker Mark Thomas, a trusted collaborator Lacy has worked with repeatedly over the past ten years. Others in the film are: ACFC players Alyssa Thompson, Madison Hammond, and Katie Zelem, and Man City Women’s Academy players Aiofe Colbert-Martin and Hannah Stengert.
:quality(60)/https://publicydn4hdgozyjrg.blob.core.windows.net/public/dd/images/11_Behind_the_scenes_with_Angel_City_Football_Clubs_Alyssa_Thompson_for_pct22What_Do_Women_Footballers_Wantpct22_Photo_Joana_Cardozo__Suzanne_Lacy_Courtesy_the_artist.7cfc11c.jpg)
Behind the scenes with Angel City Football Club’s Alyssa Thompson for 'What Do Women Footballers Want?'. Photo Joana Cardozo © Suzanne Lacy Courtesy the artist.
About the collaborators
Suzanne Lacy
Suzanne Lacy is a Los Angeles-based artist and a pioneer of socially engaged public performance art. Her installations, videos, and performances deal with sexual violence, rural and urban poverty, incarceration, labor, and aging. Lacy’s large-scale projects span the globe, including England, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, Ireland, and the US. In 2019, she had a career retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, followed by substantial exhibitions at the Queens Museum, The Whitworth Gallery, and The Manchester Art Gallery, in a 2019 project that spanned six years. Uncertain Futures, explored intersectional issues on paid and unpaid work through the lens of women over 50, focusing on gender, age, race, disability, and class and its final exhibition presents the concluding element of an immense collaborative work combining art, research, and activism. A film by Lacy and Mark Thomas, Soup Inc, was exhibited at the Manchester Art Gallery. She is a professor at the Roski School of Art and Design at the University of Southern California and a resident artist at 18th Street Arts Center, Santa Monica -CA.
Ali Riley
Ali Riley is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Angel City Football Club of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in the United States, she represents the New Zealand Women's National Team. She captains both her club and national teams. As a collegiate athlete, she captained the Stanford soccer team to two NCAA semi-finals and one final. Ali is a Los Angeles native and content creator.
Vivianne Miedema
Vivianne Miedema is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the Netherlands national team. She previously played for Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and SC Heerenveen. Miedema is a co-author of Vivianne voetbalt, a series of children's comic books featuring her experiences in football. In 2019, she became an ambassador of War Child, a charity supporting children in war zones and in 2021 she joined Common Goal a community working with young people.
:quality(60)/https://publicydn4hdgozyjrg.blob.core.windows.net/public/dd/images/Image_2.08e3a09.jpg)
:quality(60)/https://publicydn4hdgozyjrg.blob.core.windows.net/public/dd/images/Image_1.276ca6d.jpg)
:quality(60)/https://publicydn4hdgozyjrg.blob.core.windows.net/public/dd/images/20240208_MDD24_AliRiley_Creative_0118-reduced.0e989bb.jpg)
Credits
Artist Suzanne Lacy
Film maker Mark Thomas
Producers Christine O'Malley (company), Joana P. Cardozo (L.A. Shoot), Holly Shuttleworth (Manchester Shoot), Jen Watts (research producer)
Footballers Ali Riley (Angel City FC), Madison Hammond (Angel City FC), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC), Katie Zelem (Angel City FC)
Angel City FC liaison Lisa Milner Goldberg (VP of PR), Jennifer Pransky (head of content, Angel City FC)
Camera May Rigler, Miguel Torres, Joana P. Cardozo, Mark Thomas, Matthew Berg
Sound Recordist Iris Liu
Lighting and DIT Chloe Prahl
Gaffer Joel Rock
Hair and Make-up Jessica Turner
BTS Joana P. Cardozo
Footballers Viv Miedema (Manchester City), Hannah Stengert, Aoife Colbert-Martin, Laurie Cannon, Karen Katiyo
Director of Photography Jenni Suitiala
Camera Rebeca Gonzalez, Rajratna Gajhans, Percy Dean, Michael England, Mark Thomas
Sound Recordist Morgan Wetherill
Sound Assistant Avrilella Rabia Hussain
Lighting Jacob Williams
Gaffer Rhys Gannon
Production Co-ordination Sarah Sanches, Farah Khalil
Video Design and Edit Mark Thomas
Motion Design and Titles Virgini Studio
Edit Farah Khalil
Sound mix and audio post-production Danny Evans
Colour grade and post-production Soup Co.
Dr Kevin Moore
Roberta Moore, Grassroots Soccer
Laura-Jade Richards, Director Development UK, Grassroots Soccer
Svenja Geissmar, General Counsel at Arsenal FC
Christian Purslow, former CEO Aston Villa
Stacey Pope, Durham University
André Zanotta, Chief Soccer Officer FC Dallas
Ricardo Moreira, General Manager & Sporting Director, Orlando City SC
Aaron Long, Footballer LAFC
Natalie Burrell, founder, Manchester United’s Women’s Supporters’ Club
Maria Balshaw, Director, Tate Modern
Nun Haki-Okomi, Football Beyond Borders
Emile Oliver, Footballer Bolton Wanderers
Claire Oliver
Juan Mata, Footballer
Willow Bay, co-owner ACFC, Dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Allison Berg, A&L Berg FoundationLarry Berg, co-managing owner of LAFC
Stacy Johns, Chief Operating Officer, LAFC
Shawna Gordon, Football for Her
Sam Cooke, ED, UK Common Goal
Mary Conner, ED, US Common Goal
Sam Lackey and Andy Page
SODA, Manchester Metropolitan University
Ryan Edwards, Ashton Town FC Ladies
Matt Gulley
Football, City. Art, United.
:quality(60)/https://publicydn4hdgozyjrg.blob.core.windows.net/public/dd/images/FCAU_Web_Image.4152565.jpg)