Jody Korbach

When Jody Korbach founded the football team of the Art Academy Düsseldorf in 2014, consequently a fan club as well as a representative for the institution was established simultaneously. The same institution that impended to tear the red, socialist thread she delicately spun along her path of longing for communities – existing of embracement instead of dog-eat-dog mentality. As a means of opposition to the prevailing self-adulation, rivalry and intriguing, just like in the labyrinth of the minotaur, Korbach tightened the thread that provides support, order and direction: EiskellerExport’14 was born and the institution of the sports club became an allegory for community and solidarity, for honest competition, for aspiration, team spirit and self-responsibility.

In the Alte Gasse of Hotel Drees, opposite of three old ninepins alleys, in between over- and underworld, Korbach puts the memorabilia of the club on display. The club’s hymn is based on Michael Jackson’s „They don’t really care about us“ Korbach says: „Football extends us its helping hand by which we can overcome our differences and meet each other again in unity and equality: on the pitch”. The students-only organised event under the title of „German Academy Football Cup“ started to let football teams of European art academies compete against each other in 1991 and was later called „Kunstrasen” (transl.: artificial grass). Since that time, the teams confront the segregation and egocentrism of our present society with collaboratively designed jerseys, flags, scarfs and caps: You’ll never walk alone.

Jody Korbach (*1991 in Bielefeld, lives and works in Düsseldorf/Nuremberg) grew up in Dortmund and studied free art at the Düsseldorf Art Academy. The interaction between the individual and the society determines her paintings, sketches and performances – always with a tongue-in-cheek nod towards contemporary world of politics, economy and art. in 2018 Korbach founded the „Schützenkorps Europa“ and is a founding member of the Tannhäuser Kreis. Since 2023, Korbach is a professor for art and art education at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg. Her works have been on display at the Sprengelmuseum Hanover, at the Neuer Aachener Kunstverein and the Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf amongst others. In 2022, she was nominated for the Paula Modersohn-Becker price.

artist website
Instagram: @jodykorbach

Text: Linda Schröer
Translation: Matthias Fabry
Photo: private