Fan Favourite

Celebrity footwear, including this pair of Elton John’s platform boots acquired by the Museum in 1988, have become fan favourites over the years. Worn by Elton in the mid-1970s, it was said that he proclaimed, “My Dear, I wouldn’t have been seen dead in them on stage, I wore them shopping!”

In Bloom

Wendat anthropologist, Linda Sioui / Inuk and Cree artist, Paula Menarick / and Camina Weasel Moccasin, member of the Kainai Nation and curator from the Galt Museum & Archives in Alberta generously shared their expertise by selecting moccasins for In Bloom: Flowers and Footwear.

Every Step a Lotus

Every Step a Lotus: Shoes in the Lives of Women in Late Imperial China, curated by Dr. Dorothy Ko was one of our most popular exhibitions that explored the cultural meanings of the practice of footbinding in China by taking the visitor through the stages of a Chinese woman’s life in Late Imperial China.

Moccasin Identifier Project

The Museum welcomed Carolyn King, a former Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN) and artist Philip Cote to help establish the Moccasin Identifier Project. Four moccasins were selected from BSM’s collection to represent Indigenous nations across Ontario that were later made into stencils and used for interactive and educational purposes for people of all ages.

Warm the Sole Sock Drive

Our Warm the Sole Sock Drive initiative from 2008 to 2019 successfully donated thousands of socks to the Scott Mission with the help of our community and our corporate sponsor McGregor Socks.

BSM Appoints New Chair

The BSM appointed Christine Bata-Schmidt as their Chairperson. As one of the children of founder Sonja Bata, Christine grew up in a home where the prized possessions were shoes and shares the vision for the museum to honour her mother’s legacy.

Art & Innovation

Drawing from the BSM’s extensive circumpolar holdings, and building upon information gathered from extensive, museum-sponsored fieldwork, Art & Innovation: Traditional Arctic Footwear from the BSM Collection showcased a vast variety of footwear, garments and tools that highlighted the artistry and ingenuity of the makers and reveal different cultural identities, crafting techniques, and spiritual meanings.

Storyboot School

The Museum establishes a partnership with Manitobah Mukluks and TreadRight Foundation to offer a semi-permanent ‘Storyboot School’ teaching the art of moccasin and mukluk making to local Indigenous youth that we continue to offer today.

BSM Welcomes Martin Roth

We welcomed the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Director Dr. Martin Roth as our Founder’s Lecture as part of our 20th anniversary programming. His talk reflected upon the role of museums as integrators of fashion as a contemporary form of cultural entertainment.

Celebrating 30 Years

The Bata Shoe Museum celebrates 30 years with the opening of Rough & Ready: A History of the Cowboy Boot as a demonstration of its commitment to confronting historical assumptions, inspiring new perspectives, and opening doors for new ways of thinking and being.