An exhibition by Moroccan artist Abdelghafour El Maftouhi, featuring around ten portraits of Moroccan and Dutch football stars created using the string art technique, kicked off on Monday in Amsterdam.
Entitled "Art and Football: The Game as Canvas," the exhibition, organized by the Tamuda Foundation for Art and Culture and running through July 3 at Amsterdam's Public Library, showcases a series of artworks in which string serves as the primary medium of graphic expression.
The exhibition is part of an initiative aimed at fostering dialogue between art and culture by drawing on the world of football as a medium for visual expression and artistic storytelling. Through the meticulous crossing, stretching and layering of threads, Moroccan visual artist Abdelghafour El Maftouhi creates portraits that appear abstract at close range but become strikingly figurative when viewed from a distance.
The works depict some of Moroccan football's most celebrated figures, from legends such as Mustapha El Haddaoui, Badou Zaki and Mohamed Timoumi to contemporary stars including Hakim Ziyech, Yassine Bounou and Sofyan Amrabat. The exhibition also pays tribute to Dutch football icons, including Johan Cruyff.
Speaking to MAP, Abdelghafour El Maftouhi said the exhibition is the eighth in a series of showcases organized in the Netherlands and follows an earlier event on the same theme recently held at the Mohamed El Fassi Gallery in Rabat.
The exhibition celebrates Moroccan football at a time when it is enjoying growing international prominence, he said, adding that as an artist proud of the Kingdom's sporting achievements, he feels a duty to highlight these successes and contribute, in his own way, to promoting Moroccan football on the international stage.
For his part, Emad Ghajjou, director of the Tamuda Foundation for Art and Culture in Amsterdam, said that following the success of the inaugural exhibition in Rabat, it was decided to bring the initiative to the Netherlands, where it highlights iconic figures from both Moroccan and Dutch football.
MAP: 30 June 2026
