Artists-Athletes Olympic Poster Project
Cultural events have always been an important part of the Olympics. During the thousands of years of the ancient Games, the crowds at Olympia were also entertained by singers, dramatic companies, and circus performers and the exploits of athletes celebrated by potters, poets, sculptors and muralists. When Pierre de Coubertin revived the Games in 1896, he insisted that cultural events be a formal part of the Games. From 1912 to 1948, Olympic competitions in music, literature, painting and architecture were held in conjunction with that athletic events.
Few Canadians entered these competitions, but those who did met with success. In 1932, sculptor R. Tait McKenzie won a bronze medal in the medals competition, and in 1948 composer John Weinzweig won a silver medal for his Divertimento for Flute and Strings. One person, the Hungarian architect Alfred Halos won medals in both athletics and the arts.
After the London Games, multi-cultural festivals replace the competitions. After the 1972 Munich Games, the International Olympic Committee stipulated that the Olympic Committee stipulated that the Olympic cultural festivals be national in character.
This poster project grew out of the efforts by Artists-Athletes Coalition for the Cultural Celebration of the 1976 Olympics in hopes of bridging the traditional Canadian gulf between sports and arts.
The 10 designs were chosen from a competition involving more than 300 Canadian artists. The posters will be distributed free to schools and libraries across Canada and around the world. They will be on display in the Main Hall of the Olympic Swimming Stadium in Montreal and at the sailing events in Kingston as part of COJO’s Arts and Cultural Program. Copies will be given to all Olympic participants. Signed and unsigned sets of the posters may be purchased.
The project was directed by Abby Hoffman, Avrom Isaacs, Bruce Kidd, Earl Rosen and Peeter Sepp and was assisted by grants from the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council, and Wintario. Proceeds from retail sales will go to the Canadian Olympic Association’s Athletes’ Support Program.
