OLYMPIAN ARTISTS

Olympian Artists are people who are both artists and Olympic athletes.

Olympian Artists are women and men who have previously taken part in the Olympic Games and expressed their creativity beyond the field of play in various artistic areas, such as painting, sculpture, photography, cinema, music, graffiti, design and writing.


The Olympic Museum has been running the Olympian Artist programme since 2018, giving Olympic and Paralympic athletes a global platform by inviting them to create and present new works of art, as well as to contribute to special Olympism-inspired projects. It also presents an opportunity to share their experiences as athletes and artists with a wider audience. These creators are wonderful ambassadors for the promotion of sport, creativity and Olympic values in society.

OLYMPIAN ARTISTS

The Olympic and Paralympic athletes who have taken part in the programme:

Luc ABALO (FRA)

HANDBALL: BEIJING 2008, LONDON 2012, RIO 2016, TOKYO 2020

Olympian Artist – Painting: Paris 2024

Lanny BARNES (USA)

BIATHLON: TURIN 2006, VANCOUVER 2010, SOCHI 2014

Olympian Artist – Painting, drawing: PyeongChang 2018

Roald BRADSTOCK (GBR)

ATHLETICS (JAVELIN): LOS ANGELES 1984, SEOUL 1988

Olympian Artist – Painting: PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020

Gregory BURNS (USA)

SWIMMING: BARCELONE 1992, ATLANTA 1996

Olympian Artist – Painting: PyeongChang 2018, Tokyo 2020

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RELATED

Olympian Artists at Paris 2024

To celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, eight Olympians and one Paralympian were invited to participate in the programme: through individual projects inspired by sport and Olympic values or through collaborative workshops with a focus on community engagement that were organized by the Olympic Museum in a collaboration with the City of Paris.

Olympian Artists at Olympic Esports Week Singapore 2023

The Olympic Museum invited Olympian Artist Hannah Wilkinson to create ten original works to mark the first Olympic Esports Week in Singapore.

Olympian Artists at Beijing 2022

For Beijing 2022, seven Olympian artists were commissioned by the Olympic Museum to create and present new artworks inspired by the Olympic values and the magic of winter sports. 

Olympian Artists at Tokyo 2020

The Olympic Agora Tokyo 2020 programme included a group exhibition of works by five Olympians and one Paralympian. The exhibition paid tribute to the Japanese art of noren, traditional curtain-like fabric panels hung at the entrance to shops and stalls.

Olympian Artists at PyeongChang 2018

Over the course of 17 days, four Olympian artists took inspiration from the ideals of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, and shared their artistic expression in the form of two projects.




Would you like to receive information on future opportunities?

The programme is open to all Olympic and Paralympic athletes who have previously taken part in the Olympic or Paralympic Games and who practice some form of art, either professionally or as a hobby. If you would like to explore the opportunities on offer or share your own experience: 

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