Dear BSM Community,
Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Bata Shoe Museum. This significant milestone comes at a difficult time and our thoughts are with everyone affected by the virus. We hope that you and your loved ones are staying well and are looking forward to welcoming you back to the museum when it is safe to reopen.
During this time, it can be hard to dream about the future but it is through dreaming, that the future begins to take shape. The Bata Shoe Museum started out as an audacious dream that took decades to come to fruition but now, twenty-five years later, it is a world-renowned institution. We have had the honour of welcoming well over 2 million visitors who have seen ground-breaking exhibitions and participated in innovative programs and activities. We could not have achieved this milestone without the vision of our founder, Sonja Bata, the incredible work of our museum team, the enthusiasm of our patrons, the generosity of our friends and supporters and the contributions of our community and government partners.
Although we are physically distanced from you at the moment, our hope is to remain connected through social media and special anniversary-related content that will be unveiled each day for the rest of the month of May. We are also very pleased to announce that our anniversary publication The World at Your Feet: The Bata Shoe Museum is now available for purchase. It is brimming with stunning photographs of over one hundred of our most treasured shoes by Toronto photographer Ron Wood and offers readers the opportunity explore the richness and diversity of the museum’s collection from the comforts of home.
I personally want to thank each and every one of you for your interest in the museum and for your ongoing support.
Wishing you and yours the very best,
Elizabeth Semmelhack
Creative Director & Senior Curator