BENI HASAN / ORIGINS

Why Beni Hasan

A name drawn from one of the earliest monumental encounters between art and sport.

Two wrestlers in a historical reproduction of a wall painting from tomb 15 at Beni Hasan — Reproduction of a detail from tomb 15 at Beni Hasan; archival photograph dated 1939. Wellcome Collection, M0006217. Public Domain Mark.

Beni Hasan is an ancient Egyptian necropolis. The tomb of Baqet III preserves a remarkable wall of wrestling imagery, with hundreds of figures shown in different holds and positions. Nearby tombs also preserve athletic imagery.

The site offers one of the earliest surviving monumental visual records of athletic movement. We do not call it the first sports painting in history.

Art. Sport. Ritual.

Art and sport have shared images, bodies, heroes, spectators and spaces for thousands of years. BENI HASAN explores that relationship today: from stadiums and studios to the objects and rituals that give competition its cultural life.

Our name is a point of departure. An invitation to look beyond the result, and towards the images that remain.

Historical reference: Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — The Tomb of Baqet III. Image and rights record: Wellcome Collection.