Doors Open – May 25 & 26, 2024

The world-renowned Bata Shoe Museum is North America’s only museum dedicated to exploring the history and cultural significance of footwear. Designed by Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama, this award-winning five-story structure features a flagship showcase called All About Shoes: Footwear Through the Ages, thematically changing exhibitions, a retail shop, and a private vault that protects the worlds most comprehensive collection of nearly 15,000 shoes and shoe-related artifacts. The shape of the museum was inspired by a shoebox, with the roof acting as a slightly ajar lid. Visitors can see several unique touches throughout the building, including a sole-shaped front desk, a majestic art-glass installation by Lutz Haufschild, and iconic bronze features by Canadian sculptor Dora de Pédery-Hunt.

Take a fascinating, self-guided journey through 4,500 years of shoes presented across four exhibitions. Current exhibitions include Exhibit A: Investigating Crime and Footwear, Dressed to Impress: Footwear and Consumerism in the 1980s, In Bloom: Flowers and Footwear, and All About Shoes: Footwear Through the Ages.

Learn more about the Bata Shoe Museum’s architecture here.