argentine artisans crochet soccer nets into monumental artworks on miami beach
handmade from reclaimed textiles, the nets bring craft, labor, and collective making into a public artwork.
the soccer net becomes a monumental crocheted artwork
For REEFLINE’s Big Goals installation on Miami Beach, PlayLab transforms one of football’s most recognizable objects, the soccer goal, into a large-scale textile artwork. Installed between 11th and 12th Streets on Miami Beach, the project features two oversized goals whose nets have been hand-crocheted with images of sea dragons, scorpions, starfish, and constellations. Produced by artists Jessica Trosman and Emiliano Miliyo alongside women artisan cooperatives in Argentina using reclaimed textile materials, the installation brings contemporary craft into dialogue with public space and environmental awareness.
Commissioned as part of REEFLINE’s public art and conservation program, Big Goals arrives as Miami prepares to host matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The installation turns attention to the labor, material knowledge, and collective effort embedded within the nets, elevating a sporting element into the primary artistic medium of the project.
handcrafted by artisans across argentina
The monumental nets were produced by Jessica Trosman and Emiliano Miliyo, who assembled a collective of women weavers from community cooperatives across Argentina to crochet each piece by hand. Working with reclaimed and discarded textile materials, the artisans transformed waste into elaborate woven compositions that span the full dimensions of the goals.
Seen against the open sky and ocean horizon, sea creatures, celestial symbols, and mythical figures appear suspended within the mesh structure. The nets remain fully functional while operating as large-scale public artworks.
Built stitch by stitch, every section depends on the one before it, making the process itself a reflection of collective construction. The work brings forward forms of labor that often remain invisible within contemporary design production, bringing traditional textile techniques into a highly visible public setting.
CRAFT AT THE SCALE OF PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE
While Big Goals references the global reach of football, its most compelling contribution lies in its celebration of collaborative making. The installation connects designers, artists, environmental organizations, and artisan communities through a shared process of production that spans continents.
The ocean-awareness message of the project emerges through craft. Reclaimed materials are given a second life, while the cumulative nature of crochet becomes a metaphor for the small actions required to address larger environmental challenges. Every stitch contributes to a larger image, just as individual acts contribute to broader ecological change.
On the sands of Miami Beach, PlayLab’s intervention is an example of how craft can operate at the scale of public infrastructure. Big Goals approaches handmaking as a tool for imagining collective futures by using the soccer net as a medium for storytelling and environmental reflection.
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project info:
name: Big Goals
designer: PlayLab | @playlabinc
artists (net production): Jessica Trosman | @jessicatrosman and Emiliano Miliyo | @emilianomiliyo together with women artisan cooperatives in Argentina
commissioned by: REEFLINE | @thereefline
location: Miami Beach, Florida, USA
dates: June 14th – 28th, 2026
This article is part of designboom’s Crafting the Future chapter, exploring what it means to be a maker in today’s world and the future of craftsmanship. Discover more related stories here.
