Pride Month

 
Pride Month, celebrated in many countries each June, honours the 2SLGBTQI+ community by celebrating diversity in gender and sexual identities, advocating for inclusion, and promoting equality. It commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Riot, a pivotal event in the fight for 2SLGBTQI+ rights, and marks the beginning of a global movement for justice, identity, and resilience.

As an official Cultural Partner of Pride Toronto, the Bata Shoe Museum proudly supports 2SLGBTQI+ communities. Artifacts in our exhibitions recognize both the historic struggles and the outstanding achievements of 2SLGBTQI+ individuals and groups, spotlighting the creativity and influence of shoemakers, footwear designers, and advocates. We are committed to addressing inequality while celebrating the ongoing successes of the movement.

Below are some footwear highlights currently on view that reflect these important themes.

Jean-Michel Basquiat Born in Brooklyn in 1960 to a Haitian-Puerto Rican family, Basquiat’s diverse heritage informed much of his art. In 1978, Basquiat began his artistic career as part of a graffiti artist duo called SAMO, with his friend Al Diaz. By the time he was 20 years old, Basquiat’s work had become famous. When he was 21 years old he became the youngest artist to have his work displayed in the exhibition of contemporary art, Documenta, in Kassel, Germany. At 22, Basquiat became the youngest artist to exhibit at the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Basquiat’s work often commented on racism and police brutality. Basquiat’s estate collaborated with Converse to bring a piece of Basquiat’s art to the public after his passing. The Jean-Michel Basquiat x Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Pez Dispenser Dinosaur on display in Art/Wear: Sneakers x Artists, encourage patrons to consider how we define a collaboration. Edward Carpenter British poet, philosopher, and socialist, Edward Carpenter was notably an early gay rights activist. In the 1890s Carpenter began trying to publish his work on homosexuality, which was criminalized in England at this time. A brave gay rights pioneer, Edward Carpenter also famously rejected fashion norms. He referred to shoes as “prisons for the feet.”

The BSM honours Edward Carpenter with a pair of Birkenstocks and socks, symbolizing his anti-fashion aesthetic, on display in Exhibit A: Crime and Footwear. Keith Haring New York artist Keith Haring used the city as his canvas, creating large-scale chalk drawings on advertising panels, subway stations, and more. By creating art in public spaces and opening his work to commercial collaborations, Haring made his artwork widely accessible to a large audience. Haring’s work celebrated queer love and challenged homophobia and discrimination faced by the 2SLGBTQI+ community during the rise of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. As an outspoken queer advocate, Haring used his platform to raise awareness about AIDS, a virus that affected many of his friends and ultimately took Haring’s life when he was 31 years old. The Keith Haring x Zara collaboration on display in Art/Wear: Sneakers x Artists features Haring’s recognizable black figures, and comments on Haring’s far-reaching influence on fashion and art from the 1980s to today. Shantell Martin Known for her large-scale black-and-white line drawings, Nigerian-British artist Shantell Martin’s work spans many mediums, including performance art. Her work has been exhibited in museums across the world, including an embroidery collaboration with her grandmother at the Brooklyn Museum and a live drawing installation at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. When asked about her work in the context of representation, diversity, and empowerment Martin responded, “By simply being, myself, a queer, biracial woman from a working class background. In reality I shouldn’t be where I am. The act of me doing what I do is a form of activism and you could say a rebellion against the societal limitations placed upon myself and others.”

The Puma Clyde Hi on display in the BSM’s exhibition Art/Wear: Sneakers x Artists, is emblematic of Martin’s iconic doodle style, incorporating bold lines and words in her artwork. Trixie Mattel Brian Michael Firkus, famously known by her stage name Trixie Mattel, rose to stardom after competing on the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. She is now a television personality, makeup entrepreneur, published author, singer-songwriter, and co-host of a number of popular web series’ with her comedy duo partner Katya Zamolodchikova. Recognized for her flamboyant 1960s style makeup and hair, Trixie often bases her outfit and makeup inspiration on her love of Barbie.

Trixie Mattel donated a pair of her pastel pink, purple, and white boots to the Bata Shoe Museum, on display in Behind the Scenes, worn in many of her appearances including Season 13, Episode 16 of The Pit Stop and Season 7, Episode 135 of UNHhhh. Orville Peck Canadian country-western music star Orville Peck has become an important 2SLGBTQI+ icon within country music. In an interview with Variety Magazine Peck said, “I started to receive a lot of messages and letters from gay and trans and queer fans… They would say, ‘I grew up with country music all around me, but it wasn’t until I listened to you that I felt like I could embrace that side of my culture because I felt really outside of it growing up.’ That is what makes me feel really good about my visibility. It is a big focus of mine mostly because I now know how important it is to people who maybe didn’t have the same experience that I had.”

The BSM has acquired a pair of bespoke boots made for Peck by Emily Bokesnbaum, on display in Rough & Ready: A History of the Cowboy Boot.

BSM Pride Events and Activities

Please send questions and comments to info@batashoemuseum.ca