Brooklyn Museum explores sneaker culture in a new exhibit

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Jul 10, 2015

On July 10 the Brooklyn Museum in New York City opened its "Rise of Sneaker Culture" exhibit to the public, the first museum exhibit to explore the cultural history and significance of the footwear that has been worn by billions of people all over the world.

"The Rise of Sneaker Culture" exhibit, organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, showcases the evolution of the sneaker through approximately 150 pairs of sneakers. Brands, Nike, Adidas, Puma, Converse and Reebok will each have styles on display, as well as sneakers from private collectors such as Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run DMC, neaker guru Bobbito Garcia, and Dee Wells of Obsessive Sneaker Disorder. Sneakers by major fashion houses like Prada and sneaker collaborations with artists including Damien Hirst and Kehinde Wiley will also be on display.
 
Film footage, interactive media, photographic images, and design illustrations will be on display in addition to the sneakers to better show the social history, technological innovation, fashion trends and marketing campaigns that helped to shape sneaker culture over the past two centuries.

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The Brooklyn Museum looked into the history of high-heeled shoes in 2014 with its exhibit, "Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe". The exhibit began in the fall and remained to the spring of 2015. In the fall season prior, it exhibited the works of Jean-Paul Gaultier throughout his long, illustrious career.
 
"The Rise of Sneaker Culture" runs from July 10 to October 4.