The two masters of their craft have been brought together as part of The Trequartista – Art and Football United– which will invite 11 pairs of contemporary artists and iconic footballers to work together.

Kicking off at MIF23 with a world premiere of This entry – a new work by Tino Sehgal made with the involvement of Manchester United legend Juan Mata – The Trequartista will culminate in a group show at the 2025 edition of Manchester International Festival.

In this exclusive talk at MIF23, art and football fans will be able to dive into Tino and Juan’s different worlds. Steered by renowned curator Hans Ulrich Obrist – who is co-curating the wider project with Juan Mata – they’ll chat about how the beautiful game and contemporary art can riff off each other.

The talk is the first in the Formations series of one-on-one conversations between some of the world’s most exciting contemporary artists and legends of the game.

The natural home for our very first Formations event? The National Football Museum, of course. The conversation will also be livestreamed so you can tune in wherever you are in the world. More information on livestream tickets is coming soon – keep your eyes peeled!

Tickets cost £10 / £12.50 / £25, and can be booked here via the MIF website.