INTERNATIONAL
13 May – 4 September 2017 Curated by Elizabeth Semmelhack Senior Curator Bata Shoe Museum Coordinating Curator Robert Cook Organised by
Major Partner for presentation at AGWA
The Rise of Sneaker Culture As part of a season of events and exhibitions entitled SNEAKERHEADS, AGWA is pleased to present the only Australian showing of the major exhibition The Rise of Sneaker Culture. Sneakers have long been loved as a staple of casual fashion, transcending gender, age, and socioeconomic categories to become the footwear of choice for millions across the globe. The Rise of Sneaker Culture tells the sneaker’s complex and fascinating story – from its beginnings in the mid-nineteenth century to its emergence in the present day as a cultural icon. The sneakers on show are drawn from the Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto; the Northampton Museums and Art Gallery; the archives of Adidas, Nike, Reebok, PUMA, and Converse; and private collectors such as hip-hop legend Run DMC, sneaker guru Bobbito Garcia (Kool Bob Love), and Dee Wells of Obsessive Sneaker Disorder. The selection is also richly contextualised with film footage, interactive media, photographic images, and design drawings, creating a backdrop of the social history, technical innovation, fashion trends, and marketing campaigns that shaped the sneaker’s form over the past two centuries. The Rise of Sneaker Culture is organised by the American Federation of Arts and the Bata Shoe Museum. The exhibition is curated by Elizabeth Semmelhack, Senior Curator of the Bata Shoe Museum. Pierre Hardy Poworama, 2011. Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum, gift of Pierre Hardy. Photo: Ron Wood. Courtesy American Federation of Arts/Bata Shoe Museum.
AGWA – See things differently
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