The Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) announced the launch of Why We Play: Sport, Art, and the Making of Modern Life. The premise of this groundbreaking event series is that the games we play don’t just reflect modern life but have shaped it, transforming an array of societal institutions since the 1890s when sport was introduced as a tool of nation-building. It comes as the United States prepares to host the world’s largest and most iconic sporting gatherings: the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Each event in this 18-month series will feature prominent athletes, artists, authors and others speaking in various formats, from candid off the record roundtables to insightful public panel discussions. Insights from these conversations, paired with selected artworks and supported by presenting sponsor Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, will shape a major LACMA exhibition presented ahead of and during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, along with a companion book. Organizers aim for Why We Play to be a lead contributor to the Cultural Olympiad, which showcases the host country’s culture and artistic excellence, engaging the community.
The conversation series will be developed by award-winning author Tom Farrey, founder of the Sports & Society Program at the Aspen Institute, and Britt Salvesen, curator and department head at LACMA. They also will serve as co-curators of the museum exhibition and co-editors of the book. The premise for the series was previewed at the 2025 Project Play Summit, where Farrey and author Michael Lewis explored how sport has reshaped parenting in America.
“If you want to understand a community, watch how its members play – and watch others play,” said Tom Farrey, “Sport in many ways is the glue that binds our diverse, messy, competitive societies, especially in the U.S. With the help of art and top minds, we will unlock insights that both explain how sport became a cultural force and how it can remain relevant going forward.”
“There are many throughlines between art and sport in the modern era – for example, a focus on the body and an engagement with technology and innovation,” said Britt Salvesen, “Perhaps most importantly, art and sport are expressions of social values, aspirations, and critiques.”
The first conversation in Why We Play took place in the historic Rose Bowl Stadium locker room in Pasadena, California, on November 12 on the theme of “Belonging.” Participants reflected on sport’s potential to create connection, opportunity, and shared purpose across communities, while acknowledging hazards around division and exclusion. The conversation was the first of three 20-person invitation-only roundtables hosted in partnership with the Rose Bowl Institute. Speakers included pre-eminent sports sociologist Jay Coakley, Paralympian gold medalist Ezra Frech, Rose Bowl Institute President and former NFL player James Washington, documentarian Bryant Robinson, legendary UCLA softball coach Sue Enquist, fine art photographer Catherine Opie, and music producer Brandon “Stix” Salaam-Bailey.
“At the Rose Bowl, we’ve always believed that sport can bring out the best in people,” said James Washington, President of the Rose Bowl Institute. “These roundtable discussions give us a chance to sit down, talk openly, and learn from one another.”
Additional Rose Bowl Institute roundtables are planned around the themes of “Freedom” and “Power.” Other partnered events are currently scheduled on December 1 in Milan with Aspen Italia, and in 2026 with the Aspen Society in Beverly Hills on February 24, and at the Aspen Institute’s flagship Project Play Summit in Boston on May 5-6, with more to follow. Information on programming, speakers, and opportunities to participate will become available in the leadup to each event in the series and can be found on the Why We Play website, which includes a timeline of how sport has shaped society since the 1890s, among other educational materials.