The project
CULTURE AND SPORTS AT THE SERVICE OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION!
“Sport Friendly: The Field of Diversity!” is an international, collaborative artistic experience led by artist Émilien Buffard, supported by the Institut Français in Paris and awarded the "Cultural Olympiad" label by the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Through a unique photographic production, this project highlights teams committed to inclusive sports, fighting discrimination, and redefining the values of sports beyond sexual orientation, gender, or physical and social conditions. Launched in Argentina in 2022, it has now expanded internationally, driven by sports diplomacy and a cultural network engaged in photographing local teams in the Sport Friendly way. This photographic initiative is a genuine commitment to combat discrimination, embodied by an album of diversity that reinvents the "Panini" format, a global exhibition and a series of international events. Since 2022 over 1,000 amateur and professional athletes from 16 countries, have been photographed for the Sport Friendly project, fully supported by institutions.
Together, let’s continue this global register on inclusive sports!
Make the voices of the players in your city/region resonate worldwide through photography, to engage in conversations, break down barriers, and create bridges between communities. Whether you are an organization in the cultural network abroad (Alliances Françaises, Instituts Français, Embassies, etc…), a sport team, an NGO, or a citizen collective, lead your Sport Friendly action around essential themes such as diversity, trans identity, feminism, disability, racism, bullying, community, and education o name a few. Your photographs and testimonies will come to life not only within your local community, through exhibitions in public spaces or within your institution, but far beyond, as each action is documented, shared online, and showcased around the world.
Let's unite for greater diversity in the world through art and sport!
A project supported by
Who is Émilien Buffard?
With his project “Sport Friendly: The Field of Diversity!”, Émilien Buffard utilizes photography to unveil a sporting reality, which autonomously unfolds in cities across different countries, reflecting a social impulse that significantly disrupts long-established norms. His work prompts reflection on the importance of representation and inclusion in sports, challenging stereotypes that limit the participation of certain groups. Buffard celebrates diversity and demonstrates that sports can be a form of expression and empowerment for all identities. His work invites us to reimagine sports as a respectful space where every body and person finds their place.
By exhibiting in public spaces and museums, French artist Émilien Buffard initiates a dialogue with those who may not always be attuned to the cause of diversity. His works have been viewed by over a million spectators at major events such as the 3rd South American Youth Games (2022) and the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as in cultural institutions like the Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporánea (Valencia, Spain), the Centro Cultural Kirchner (Buenos Aires, Argentina), and various French Embassies. His work has also received extensive international media coverage, and was awarded the prestigious “Cultural Olympiad” label by the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee, underlining its importance in the global cultural and sporting landscape.
