Ever since I first came across Emily Bisgaard’s work early last year, I’ve been hooked.
It’s expressive, instinctive, and often deliberately imperfect, and, most importantly, leans into the parts of football that rarely make it into the polished imagery we’ve become accustomed to.
From large-scale murals to community-led projects, the Copenhagen-based artist’s work is more than a reflection of the game, it’s a quiet shift in how it’s seen, especially around identity and the role of women within it. I sat down with Bisgaard to find out more about what drives her, her instinct, the imperfection, and why football, to her, still feels like freedom.
Let’s start simple – where did football first show up in your life, and what made it stick?
Football first showed up for me as a kid on my dad’s lap watching Match of the Day in London. From a very young age he had kickabouts with me in the park and I joined my first team at seven. I loved the feeling of kicking the ball – feeling free on the pitch and proving to the boys that I could do it too. The thrill of playing never goes away.
Was there a moment where you decided to approach football differently, or has that always been instinctive?
I’ve always had strong instincts and I try to trust them as much as possible. In the beginning, when I was figuring out how to make it all work, my partner and artist Paul Doran gave me great advice: “stick to what you know.”
As simple as it sounds, it completely shifted my approach. That’s how football entered my painting – I began to draw more from my own experiences and it brought a different kind of connection to what I do. I also believe in trying new things, experimenting, reshaping the usual rules, and collaborating to create new space between art and football.
A lot of what you make sits between sport, identity and belonging. Where does that come from for you?
It comes from my childhood. I was born in London and raised across the Netherlands and Hong Kong, where I lived for 12 years. From a young age I was in international environments which shaped my identity. Sport – football and basketball specifically – became safe places, an equal playing field for connection wherever I was.
You move between murals, community projects, and more personal pieces – how do those different formats shape what you’re trying to say?
In my opinion, everyone is an artist and everyone is an athlete. It’s about how you choose to express that. I engage with art in sport, in galleries, and in public spaces so I can best express what I want to say. Through different points of relation, different learnings arise.
Are you drawn to the messier side of things?
Definitely. I’ve never been someone who’s good at colouring inside the lines, and in some ways I’ve always wanted to challenge them. I feel an urgency when I paint and I’m drawn to imperfection. Broken crayons still colour.
You spend time in and around the women’s game – what do you see there that maybe doesn’t get shown enough?
I think we always need to remind ourselves that any woman playing football is political. In Afghanistan, for example, women are still banned from playing. We have to keep fighting for the basic human right that every woman should have the right to play football.
Do you think of your work as documenting football culture, or reshaping it into something else?
I see my work as a way to express and reshape the role of women in art and in sport. By building points of connection and intersection, I hope it can question how we perceive these spaces and how they influence wider society.
What is it about art that lets you express things about football – and people – that other mediums can’t?
I don’t see barriers with art. Our minds and society can create them, but at its essence, art allows me to express with no expectation. I see it as an endless possibility – a way to connect, collaborate, and bridge with others.
How important is that connection in the process, not just the outcome?
I hope that through my work, young girls and people feel a sense of courageous play. The process is the most important part. By connecting through play together, we learn to overcome challenges, open our minds, and unlearn conditioned ways of thinking.
Looking ahead, what do you want to push further – scale, impact, or just staying true to your instincts?
I hope to continue to have the privilege to make art. I’m very excited about upcoming projects.
In May, I’m doing a large-scale community and peace-building artwork titled Different Together – a 5m by 20m painting at AVA Festival in Belfast, in collaboration with Paul Doran, Mark Ervine, Naomi Ervine and students from Belfast School of Art. I’m looking forward to new ways of collaborating, trusting my instincts, and surprising myself with what’s to come.
You can keep up to date Emily's work via her Instagram account
VANGUARD: The Creative Soccer Community is SoccerBible’s ongoing celebration of the people reshaping the seams of creative soccer culture – the photographers, designers, filmmakers, stylists and thinkers redefining how the game looks, feels and lives beyond the pitch. It’s a platform for individual voices and distinct perspectives, spotlighting those building new visual languages around football while respecting what came before.