At the Edge of the Game
On display September 9, 2026 - November 21, 2026
Old Capitol Museum
Hanson Humanities Gallery (Ground Floor)
The Saturday Man: At the Edge of the Game explores six decades of football (soccer) photography by acclaimed photographer Peter Robinson. This exhibit documents the intersections of sport, community, identity, ritual, gender, journalism, and globalization using Robinson's distinctive artistry and storytelling.
Robinson reveals how the world's most popular game reflects everyday life, capturing the people, places, and moments that shape culture through a powerful lens for understanding the human experience.
Samples
Accordian
About the Artist
The Saturday Man: At the Edge of the Game presents the world’s most popular sport through the eyes of acclaimed photographer Peter Robinson. Over the course of more than six decades, Robinson has documented everything from the intensely local British football (soccer) of the 1960s, to the unconventional (and now defunct) North American Soccer League, to the evolution of today’s global game. His time as the official photographer for FIFA, along with contributions to publications such as Onze and Sports Illustrated, cemented his reputation as one of the leading photographers of his generation.
Robinson’s distinctive skill as a storyteller allows him to use football to explore the human condition. Through decades of change in both football and photojournalism, his artistry stands in contrast to an increasingly commercialized version of what was once a more grassroots sport. His lens has remained focused not only on the field, but also on the communities at its edges. It is this singular perspective that led Pablo Maurer of The Athletic to call Robinson “arguably the world’s greatest living soccer photographer.”
Curricular Connections
Our team has identified direct instructional linkages to the following subjects (not limited to):
American Studies: Explore the intersections of sport, popular culture, media, and community life. The exhibition can support conversations about leisure, public identity, and the cultural significance of sporting traditions.
Anthropology: Examine the cultural practices, traditions, and rituals that surround sport in communities around the world. The photographs encourage discussions about identity, symbolism, belonging, and the ways everyday experiences shape cultural life.
Art & Art History: Examine documentary photography as a tool for visual storytelling, considering how composition, timing, perspective, and subject matter shape meaning. These images provide opportunities to discuss photography's role in both artistic expression and cultural documentation.
Business: Examine the transformation of football from a grassroots community pastime into a global commercial enterprise. Spanning more than six decades, the exhibition provides opportunities to discuss commercialization, branding, leadership, organizational culture, and the evolving relationship between sport, business, media, and community.
Communication Studies: Investigate how visual images communicate ideas, emotions, and narratives without relying on text. Students can analyze audience interpretation, visual rhetoric, and the power of photography to shape collective memory.
Creative Writing: Use documentary photography as inspiration for narrative, character development, and place-based storytelling. The images invite students to imagine the stories behind the moments captured, exploring voice, perspective, memory, and the human experience.
Economics: Consider the economic forces that shape professional sport and public life. The exhibition supports conversations about labor, globalization, stadium development, media rights, and the changing financial landscape of the world's most popular game.
History: Use photographs as primary sources to investigate social and cultural change across decades. The exhibition offers insight into shifting community traditions, public life, and the evolving landscape of one of the world's most popular sports.
Journalism & Media Studies: Analyze photography as a form of reporting and storytelling. The images can support discussions about photojournalism, media representation, visual narratives, and the changing relationship between audiences, reporters, and major sporting events.
Marketing: Explore how teams, athletes, and sporting events build lasting identities and connect with audiences. The photographs invite discussion about brand authenticity, fan loyalty, consumer engagement, and the evolving role of sports marketing.
Museum Studies: Consider how photographs are interpreted, organized, and presented to engage diverse audiences. The exhibition offers opportunities to discuss curatorial practice, exhibition design, considerations for temporary or traveling exhibitions, and the role of museums in preserving and interpreting cultural history.
Political Science: Investigate the ways sport intersects with politics, national identity, and public life. The photographs encourage discussion about civic identity, international competition, public gatherings, and the role of sport in shaping cultural and political narratives.
Psychology: Examine the emotional and social dimensions of sport through the experiences of players, supporters, and communities. The photographs provide opportunities to discuss group identity, motivation, memory, belonging, and the psychology of collective experiences.
Religious Studies: Explore the rituals, symbols, and shared traditions that give sport deep cultural meaning. The exhibition highlights how fans and communities create practices of belonging, remembrance, and identity that parallel subject themes.
Sociology: Explore how sport reflects social structures, community identity, and collective behavior. The exhibition provides opportunities to discuss fandom, class, belonging, social change, and the relationships that connect individuals to larger communities.
Sports Studies / Sport & Recreation Management
Consider the social, cultural, and economic dimensions of sport beyond athletic performance. The photographs offer perspectives on fan culture, sporting institutions, community engagement, and the changing nature of the game over time.
Class Visits
Ready to bring your students into the gallery?
- Schedule a self-guided visit as a class and use our gallery as your classroom for a day. Reserve the gallery with our Education Department.
- Assign a visit to the exhibition for your students outside of class during our open hours. Coordinate student attendance tracking with our Education Department.
- Review our resource offerings under the Assignment Development drop-down or contact our Education Department to collaborate on additional experiences.
Assignment Development
Looking to develop a gallery-based assignment for your course?
Instructors are welcome to teach independently in the gallery or partner with museum staff to develop learning experiences that support their curricular goals. Our Education Department can help create discussion prompts, observation activities, writing assignments, or other gallery-based exercises tailored to your course objectives, helping your students engage directly with exhibition themes in meaningful ways.
Contact the Pentacrest Museums Education Department to discuss your course goals and inquire about gallery-based class assignments.
Collaborative Programming
Want to collaborate on a public program?
The Pentacrest Museums offer a variety of educational programs in conjunction with current exhibitions. We also welcome collaboration with faculty, staff, student organizations, and community partners to develop programs that utilize exhibits and engage audiences in new ways. Whether through lectures, discussions, performances, workshops, or other creative formats, collaborative programming can connect interdisciplinary objectives and lead to creative discovery at the University of Iowa.
Contact the Pentacrest Museums Education Department to discuss and inquire about collaborating on a program.
"Arguably the world's greatest living soccer photographer"
—Pablo Maurer, The Athletic
Get your students out of their textbooks and into the galleries for high-impact learning.
