Sneakerheads and folks looking to escape the city for a weekend now that the weather is getting nicer, take heed. The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto celebrates the style, function, and history of footwear in their four impressive galleries. Housing over 13,000 shoes and related artifacts, the museum strives to share compelling cultural stories by using footwear as the point of entry into the cultures of the world.
Although the museum has a running permanent collection of shoes, they are also running a sneaker-specific exhibition that explores the history of the sneaker from the 19th century through today. Rare sneakers from the archives of Adidas, Nike, Reebok, PUMA, Converse and Northampton Museums and Art Gallery, along with loans from rap legends Run DMC, sneaker guru Bobbito Garcia, and limited editions such as the Nike Dunk Supremes and LeBron James Stewies, are all featured.
In accordance with the year-long exhibit, Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture, the Bata Shoe Museum is holding a Sneaker Design Competition. Students from seventh grade to high school seniors are asked to design a sneaker for the future.
[This post was sponsored by the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto]
[Photo credit: Great Ads website]