Bata Shoe Museum To Open ‘Art/Wear: Sneakers x Artists’ Exhibition
Calling all sneakerheads and art aficionados: On Oct. 3, Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto is set to debut a new exhibit entitled “Art/Wear: Sneakers x Artists.”
The museum explains that this showcase examines “the growing trend of artists engaging in commercial collaborations, particularly with sneaker brands that blur the lines between art, fashion, and commerce, offering consumers the opportunity to buy and wear creations by some of the most revered figures in the art world.”
The exhibit will take a look at the history of sneakers as canvases, graffiti artists and sneakers, artist collaborations, and the growing popularity of customization as an art form. Just a few of the artists featured in the collection include Peter Max, Ruohan Wang, Takashi Murakami, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquat and Virgil Abloh.
FN interviewed senior curator Elizabeth Semmelhack via email about the new exhibit, discussing what led to to the museum’s latest undertaking and what visitors might take away from the exploration of the intersection between art and footwear. More photos of the exhibit can be found here.
What inspired you and your team to explore the Art/Wear: Sneakers x Artists theme?
I have been working on the history of collaborations and sneakers for a long time but for this exhibition I wanted to focus specifically on artists and sneakers. In addition to seeing an increase in artist collabs, what really sparked my interest was seeing how many sneakers are being collected and valued in ways that are analogous to the art market. In addition, I was also interested in how sneakers are increasingly being found in traditional art spaces, such as museums and auction houses. I also began to ask if the value and rarity of certain artist collabs was elevating them to a status similar to limited edition artist prints. By focusing on artists and sneakers, these topics can be explored and more importantly, the question “what is art” can be considered.
What do you hope visitors can learn about the world of footwear when they visit the exhibit?
I would love, if after seeing this exhibition, people continued to wrestle with the question, “what is art?” Many of the artists in this exhibition are using sneakers in conceptually rich ways to challenge and redefine conventional boundaries. By manipulating the familiar form of sneakers, these artists are creating provocative works that explore themes of consumerism, personal expression, and societal expectations inviting viewers to reconsider the intersections between art, fashion, and identity today.
What was one of the most fascinating or surprising things you learned as you explored the intersection of art and footwear?
I am always interested in figuring out how something started and the answers are often very surprising. In the case of art on sneakers, it required both an increase in production of canvas sneakers making them inexpensive and the invention and commercialization of the ballpoint pen the felt-tipped marker. This led to a teen “craze” for drawing on sneakers in the 1950s and 60s.
Why do you think the canvas of a sneaker calls to artists?
Sneakers are not blank canvases. The storied histories embedded in classic silhouettes, the cultural significance of specific brands, and the longstanding importance of sneakers in the creation of cultural and personal identity are all at play in artist collabs. I think the structure of sneakers also plays a part. Unlike other things we wear, sneakers don’t require the body to hold their shape; their form is sculptural giving artists’ surfaces to work on that are not dependent on the body being held in a certain way. In addition, sneaker boxes and packing tissue provide additional surfaces for artwork.
What can we expect next from the Bata Shoe Museum?
The next big exhibition and book will be ‘Rough and Ready: A True History of the Cowboy Boot’ ready for May to celebrate the Bata Shoe Museum’s 30th anniversary.