Storytime with the BSM
2020-10-17 19:00 - 19:30 (America/Toronto)
Tune in every Saturday night on our Youtube channel as some of our staff members read stories that cover topics like diversity, inclusion, identity and more.

Step into the BSM - The Great Divide and Collections Management
2020-10-18 10:00 - 10:30
Every Sunday, enjoy a new post from our curatorial department. Get the inside scoop on how our exhibitions come together and more.

The Salon Series II
2020-10-21 19:00 - 20:30
Exploring the impact of 18th century issues today and beyond
We are so excited to announce our next Salon Series guest ~ Dr. Kimberly Alexander, Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of New Hampshire! Exploring the impact of 18th century issues today and beyond, as featured in our exhibition The Great Divide, we hope you can join us as Kimberly sits down (virtually) with Creative Director & Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack, to discuss Patriotism and the Politicization of Shoes, 1760s -1780s.
Register Now
UPCOMING SALONS
The Salon Series III with Nathalie Atkinson. November 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm.
The Salon Series IV with Romana Mirza. December 9 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm.

Halloween at the BSM
2020-10-30 - 2020-11-01
Halloween may look a bit different this year but that’s not stopping us from celebrating this fun annual tradition. And what better way to show off your costumes than at Toronto’s favourite shoebox!
Kids 12 and under wearing costumes get in free and also take home a craft bag!
With enhanced safety and cleaning protocols in place, families can enjoy all four exhibitions, including our newest exhibit on 18th century footwear, as well as a unique shop with lots of shoe-inspired items, all in a safe and welcoming environment.
Please purchase your General/Senior/Student tickets in advance. Children in costume do not need an advance ticket but must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. Family groups only with a maximum of six per group.

ShowPass

Visitors using their Cultural Access Pass or the Canno app, please email at least one day ahead to Christopher@batashoemuseum.ca to reserve your spot.

Ask a Curator
2020-11-10 12:30 - 13:00
Join us every Tuesday on our IGTV channel as our Creative Director and Senior Curator, Elizabeth Semmelhack answers your questions!

2020 Founder's Lecture
2020-11-10 19:00 - 21:00
From Scripts to Sneakers:
A Conversation with Hollywood Costume Designer Marci Rodgers
Creative Director & Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack sat down for a fascinating conversation with award-winning costume designer for film, television, theatre and opera, Marci Rodgers. Marci shared her creative process when approaching costume design for major projects, how she creates iconic looks that influence culture and, of course, the importance of shoes!
If you missed it, watch the recording below.

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Marci Rodgers is an award winning costume designer for film, television, theatre and opera who has brought her unique visual flair to films from Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman to Steven Soderbergh’s High Flying Birds. Her uncanny ability to breathe new life into stories through carefully chosen clothing has quickly made her one of the most sought after young designers in the industry today. Marci’s designs can be seen in prominent projects including, the television series She’s Gotta Have It with director Spike Lee, the feature film The Day Shall Come with director Chris Morris, and television series Wu-Tang Clan: An American Saga created by The RZA & Alex Tse.
Photo Credit: Remy Fink

Friends of the BSM Reciprocal Weekend
2020-11-21 - 2020-11-22 | Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Dr, Toronto, Ontario, M3C 1K1, Canada
Special Offer for Friends of the BSM – Explore the Aga Khan Museum FREE
Become a Friend of the Aga Khan Museum for a day! From 10:00am to 5:30pm, Friends of the BSM can visit the Aga Khan Museum for free! Booking in advance is required. Please email friends@agakhanmuseum.org with your desired date and time, and present your Friends card when you visit. Friends of the BSM can also receive a 10% discount on purchases in the Museum Shop and in the Courtyard Café.
Please note: this offer is for cardholders only and does not include guest privileges.
Offering visitors a window into worlds perhaps unknown or unfamiliar, the Aga Khan Museum showcases the artistic, intellectual and scientific heritage of Islamic civilizations across centuries and continents.
Visit Remastered ~ a temporary exhibition that allows you to dive deeper than ever before into the Museum’s world-class collection of Persian, Turkish, and Mughal Indian manuscript paintings. Digital interactives developed in collaboration with Ryerson University Library enable you to explore 40+ pieces and see stirring stories from the manuscripts come to life.
For more information about the Aga Khan Museum and its programming, please visit agakhanmuseum.org.

The Salon Series IV
2020-12-09 19:00 - 20:30
Exploring the impact of 18th century issues today and beyond
We are so excited to announce our next Salon Series guest ~ Romana Mirza, 2nd Year PhD Student, Ryerson and York Universities.
Exploring the impact of 18th century issues today and beyond, as featured in our exhibition The Great Divide, we hope you can join us as Romana sits down (virtually) with Creative Director & Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack on December 9th, 2020.
Identity Performance and Privilege – Shifting Perceptions of Modesty and Disproving Stereotypes
Starting with ideas of modesty in the 18th century, join us as guest speaker Romana Mirza discusses the impact colonizers had on the culture and society of the “biblical lands”, specifically focusing on the loss of rights for women. The discussion will also fast forward to the 21st century and consider the increasing visibility of hijabis to discuss how different bodies are put in harm’s way or granted privilege based on sartorial expression.
Register Now

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Romana Mirza brings 25+ years’ experience as a marketing professional and brand strategist to her scholarly work. She is a second year PhD student in the Communication and Culture program offered jointly by Ryerson and York Universities in Toronto, Canada. Her dissertation will be exploring distinctions in modest fashion for men, women and trans* people with the goal to explore modest sartorial practices as a point of connection as opposed to a point of division. Her research will challenge Islamophobic assumptions surrounding modest dressing and the dominant narrative that marginalizes Muslim women who dress modestly. She hopes to address the stigma that has long been associated with modesty and transform narrow understandings and stereotypes in order to advance inclusion.

Uplifted: Art of Crochet Shoes
2021-01-16 10:00 - 14:00
Cost: $20/person
Friends of the BSM: $15/person
Learn how to crochet for the first time or refresh your skills, while discovering innovative ways to create. We will explore the effectiveness of patience & wellness while learning new modalities from a place of silence and stillness in order to increase awareness of the mind, body & soul. Engage in dialogue to strengthen knowledge of upcycling and sourcing materials, in order to reduce waste and become more eco-friendly.
Legin Knits will take the time to discuss “the shoe” and gain a bit of knowledge about the history, the evolution and the Bata Shoe Museum. In this workshop, participants will learn how to crochet as well as techniques on how to customize their shoes with decorative crochet pieces using a 3-step customization process. No skills needed. All levels accepted from beginner to advanced.
This workshop will take place via Zoom. All participants are required to source their own equipment needed for this workshop. Please see below for details.

ABOUT THE HOST

Nigel “Legin” John learned crochet from a Rasta man in San Fernando, Trinidad. His passion has allowed him to continue to grow, innovate, and expand his artistry through Legin Knits and Art Of Crochet. The focus on fashion is to make “Original” one of a kind pieces for collections and for personalized custom orders. He also adds crochet to already made items to renew into “Uplifted”(upcycled) pieces, giving them new life! Legin started teaching crochet to his friends and youth in his community immediately after learning. He felt the connection to passing this art form on, while building a business to open up opportunities for himself and others. When encountering individuals he taught, they always express their gratitude and strong belief that learning crochet gave them values that apply to their lives.

Workshop Tools/Materials Needed
1 pair of shoes where the crochet will be applied

Crochet Tools:

1 x crochet hook (Preferably sizes 3.50, 3.75, 4 or bigger)
1 or 2 balls of yarn (You have the more color options with more yarn)
Scissors

Hand Sewing Tools:

1 or more sewing needles (Always good to have a few extra, just in case)
1 x or more colors of All Purpose Sewing Thread
1 x Thimble (not rubber)
1 x Long nose pliers

Where to get your items:
We would like you to support local business! Our Partners at Romni Wools have made it easy for you.

Go to leginknits.com “Shop” page and select our “AOC Kit” to get all of the essential Crochet tools and Hand
sewing tools.
You may already have most of the tools needed at home already! So for a variety of yarn options and crochet hooks contact: Rachel @romniwools. You can DM on Instagram, email info@romniwools.com or call (416) 703 – 0202.

Delivery/Pick Up Options

You can arrange curbside pick up
Delivered to your doorstep! (For delivery please order well in advance. Give yourself at least 5 business days)
Tell them Legin sent you and receive 10% off.

The Salon Series V
2021-01-20 19:00 - 20:00
Exploring the impact of 18th century issues today and beyond.
We are so excited to announce our next Salon Series guest ~ Hilary Davidson.
Kicking Off Their Heels: The Revolution in Regency Footwear
Great changes in politics and culture at the end of the eighteenth century also extended to fashion. While waists rose and stiff gowns gave way to soft cotton simplicity, shoes also kicked off their heels to usher in the flat sole with the turn of the nineteenth century. This talk explores the world of footwear in the extraordinary transitional period between 1790-1820, and how new ideas were expressed through fashionable feet.
ABOUT THE GUEST SPEAKER
Hilary Davidson trained as a bespoke shoemaker before becoming a dress historian and curator, and is now based between Sydney and London. She was curator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London between 2007-2012 and has lectured and taught extensively across fashion history and theory, archaeology and curation. Her MA History of Textiles and Dress thesis was on the cultural power of red shoes and developed into work on magical footwear, including for the V&A exhibition catalogue of Shoes: Pleasure and Pain (2015). Hilary is an honorary associate at the University of Sydney, on the editorial board of Fashion Studies, and in 2019 published Dress in the Age of Jane Austen (Yale University Press).
Register Now

Flat Stitch: Embroidery Beadwork
2021-02-20 10:00 - 12:00
Cost: $20/per person
Friends of the BSM: $15/per person
Facilitated by Métis designer Justine Woods, this workshop will introduce participants to the historical and contemporary use of Indigenous beadwork in Canada. The hands-on portion of this workshop will offer participants the chance to learn beginner techniques of flat stitch, an embroidery beadwork technique commonly used to adorn moccasins and other pieces of clothing.
This workshop will take place via Zoom. All participants are required to source their own equipment needed for this workshop. Please see below for details. This workshop will be recorded for internal purposes at the Bata Shoe Museum. If there are any questions or concerns, please email adrienne@batashoemuseum.ca.

Sold Out
Thank you so much for your interest in the BSM’s Virtual Workshop Series! Due to the overwhelming amount of participants, our Flat Stitch: Embroidery Beadwork workshop is sold out. If you’d like to learn more about Justine Woods and her upcoming workshops, please visit her website. Stay tuned on our social media and website for new workshops every month!

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS HERE:

ABOUT THE HOST

Justine Woods is a Métis interdisciplinary designer based in Tkaronto in what is known as Canada, and is from the Georgian Bay Métis Community. She is a current Master of Design Candidate at OCAD University and holds a Bachelor of Design in Fashion Design from Ryerson University where she specialized in bespoke tailoring and garment construction. Justine has showcased her work both locally and internationally at Graduate Fashion Week in London, England and is a Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards nominee.
Justine’s design practice involves garment-based work with focus on Indigenous clothing adornment practices. Her research and design work investigates the ways Fashion can facilitate, activate and mobilize cultural resurgence, specifically positioned through an Indigenous feminist lens. Her work is greatly informed by her identity as a Métis woman and the deeply rooted relationships she has to her ancestral land.
Workshop Tools/Materials Needed

Your choice of clothing/footwear to bead
Size 10 Czech seed beads (Recommended: Assortment of 3-4 colours per kit)
No. 11 gold eye (shorter and more durable) or No. 13 silver eye (longer and easier to string on beads) beading needles
Nymo ‘D’ beading thread
Stiffened beading felt (preferably white, but any colour will do)

A beading mat (Optional – they can be easily found at any craft store or on Amazon)

Some online beading/craft retailers:

Beaded Dreams, Ottawa, ON, CAN
ArtOn Beads, Toronto, ON, CAN (PayPal payments accepted only)
BeadFX, Toronto, ON, CAN
John Bead, Toronto, ON, CAN
ShipWreck Beads, Lacey, WA, USA
Beads and Pow Wow Supply, Michigan, US
iBead Canada, Sudbury, ON, CAN

FAQ
Will Justine be providing a template for us to use?
Yes! You can access the template here but we do not want to limit your creativity and you are more than welcome to use your own design.
Do you have any recommendations on what kind of clothing/footwear to use?
We would suggest espadrilles or moccasins, or a piece of clothing that is made out of a medium-weight or heavy-weight fabric.

The Salon Series VI
2021-02-24 19:00 - 20:00
Exploring the impact of 18th century issues today and beyond.
We are so excited to announce our next Salon Series guest ~ Dr. Danielle Kinsey.
Diamonds and “Exotic” Goods Consumption in Britain, 1750-1830
If we think about a quintessentially British upper-class tea party at the turn of the nineteenth century, we find that it is composed of goods from away: tea, obviously, but also things like china, sugary items, chocolate, spices, silver, mahogany, ivory, silks, cottons, maybe snuff, and jewelry with precious gemstones. Scholars of this period continue to explore how “exotic” goods came to be appropriated into British society and moved from luxury status to everyday items. In this talk, Kinsey will focus on diamonds and show how it wasn’t a simple case of a product associated with “the East” becoming Westernized but a more complicated dynamic where diamonds could be understood to be foreign, exotic, domestic, modern, traditional, scientific, romantic, good and evil all at once. In other words, the process of appropriation didn’t completely strip diamonds, and many other goods from away, of associations with exoticism or knowledge about where they came from and how they came to be in Britain. The worlds of colonialism and global capitalism were very much alive in what could be understood as British consumer culture in this time.
ABOUT THE GUEST SPEAKER

Danielle Kinsey is an assistant professor in the department of history at Carleton University in Ottawa where she teaches courses on consumption and material culture, British history, global and imperial history, and the history of the body. She is completing a book manuscript for McGill-Queen’s University Press about the diamond trade and the meaning of diamonds in Britain and empire in the long nineteenth century.
Register Now

The Art of Drawing
2021-03-20 10:00 - 12:00
Cost: $20/per person
Friends of the BSM: $15/per person
In this drawing workshop, participants will first learn how to draw “lines”; they will learn what a line is, how to create it using a variety of tools (pencil, ink on paper) and also how to manipulate the quality of the lines. Based on observation, next will come contour drawing, as well as shapes and values. The session will end with participants putting this all together to create a delightful drawing panel. All skill levels welcome.
This workshop will take place via Zoom. All participants are required to source their own equipment needed for this workshop. Please see below for details.This workshop will be recorded and may be used by the Bata Shoe Museum for internal purposes only. If there are any questions or concerns, please email adrienne@batashoemuseum.ca.

ABOUT THE HOST:

Faez Alidoosti is a 2D animation, visual artist and cartoonist based in Toronto, Canada. He has been working in the North American animation industry since 2007 as an animator, designer and storyboard artist. Alidoosti is also experienced in painting and drawing and teaches these techniques as well. He believes in a daily dose of drawing much like a daily workout which is essential for any athlete.
Workshop Tools & Materials

Papers
Pencils (B2, B4, B6)
Inkpen
India Ink
Watercolor brush (no. 6 or 8)
Watercolor paper 150lb
A jar of water
Paper towels
