YALLA: You’ll Never Walk Alone, on view from March 13 through May 17, 2026 at RedLine Contemporary Art Center, presents a powerful solo exhibition by Brooklyn-based Lebanese and Palestinian-American photographer Marwan Shousher. The title fuses two rallying cries: “yalla,” an Arabic call urging collective movement forward, and “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” the 1963 anthem by Gerry & The Pacemakers that has become synonymous with working-class football solidarity from Liverpool to Glasgow and Dortmund. Together, the phrases frame a meditation on sport as a vehicle for international resistance and shared identity.
Shousher’s photographs delve into the visual culture of global football fandom, where terraces become stages for political expression. Scarves, banners, and stickers bearing messages of Palestinian solidarity appear in stadiums across Ireland, Latin America, Southern Europe, and the Arab world. These handmade artifacts form an evolving archive of cross-cultural allegiance, revealing how supporter groups often position themselves at the forefront of anti-racist, anti-fascist, and anti-colonial movements. In images such as those captured at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, collective choreography and color transform the stands into declarations of belonging and defiance.
Interwoven with scenes of fervent supporters are photographs of refugee children playing pickup matches organized by Shousher over the past decade alongside Hearaide, the nonprofit founded by his mother, Dr. Randa Mansour-Shousher. Working in regions affected by conflict, Hearaide addresses auditory trauma caused by repeated exposure to bombing. Against this backdrop, children chasing a ball across improvised fields embody resilience and fleeting joy. Their games echo the chants of distant stadiums, linking grassroots play to global spectacle.
Installed as monumental banners reminiscent of those unfurled in arenas, Shousher’s images envelop viewers in an atmosphere of collective energy. Whether situated in camps or coliseums, the photographs suggest that movement—across borders, across generations—can reclaim dignity and connection.
YALLA: You’ll Never Walk Alone proposes football not merely as sport, but as a living language of solidarity, where community becomes both shield and song.
Image:
Marwan Shousher, digital photograph, Aida Camp, Bethlehem, Palestine, 2022 © Marwan Shousher