Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, Canada
Over 10,000 shoes are housed in architect Raymond Moriyama’s award-winning 5 storey structure. Artifacts on exhibit range from Chinese bound foot shoes and ancient Egyptian sandals to chestnut crushing clogs and Elton John’s platforms. The Museum celebrates the style and function of footwear in four impressive galleries. Over 4,500 years of history and a collection of 20th century celebrity shoes are reflected in the permanent exhibition, "All About Shoes". Three other galleries feature special exhibitions.
The Birth of a Museum: How a personal passion grew into an internationally acclaimed collection
To say that Sonja Bata is enthusiastic about shoes would be an understatement. Since the 1940's, Mrs. Bata, Founding Chairman of The Bata Shoe Museum Foundation, has scoured the world for shoes of every description, from the most ordinary to the most extraordinary.
Her personal passion for shoes aside, Mrs. Bata's unending quest has resulted in one of the world's finest collections and North America's unique shoe museum. Indeed, it is fortunate for students of history and fashion alike that Mrs. Bata's involvement in the shoe industry and her frequent business travels have allowed her the opportunity to build such an uparalleled collection with its wealth of historical information.
On the surface, footwear is an indication of personal taste and style, but a closer examination yields a different picture altogether. Viewed chronologically, shoes trace a path through technological development and mark even the subtlest shifts in a society's attitudes and values. In particular, a survey of shoes illustrates whole ways of life, indicating as it does the social status, climate, religion, sex, and professions of different people throughout the ages. Viewed individually, they are fascinating. Whether they're objects of beauty or instruments of torture, shoes are surely signs of their times.
In 1979, when the collection had outgrown available private storage space, the Bata family established The Bata Shoe Museum Foundation to manage the collection more professionally and to create a centre of knowledge about the role of footwear in the social and cultural life of mankind.
Over the years, the Foundation has expanded its activities. It has, for instance, funded various field trips to collect and research footwear in areas where traditions are changing rapidly. The lifestyle of the North American indigenous people and some of the circumpolar cultures including Siberia, Alaska, Greenland and Lapland have been the focus of some studies.
The Foundation has also funded the publication of various academic material including "The Typology of Native Footwear", "Pride of the Indian Wardrobe" on Athapaskan footwear, "The Spirit of Siberia" and "Our Boots: An Inuit Woman’s Art". The main objective of the Foundation is, however to establish and operate a permanent home for the collection of more than 10,000 shoes and related items.
On May 6, 1995, The Bata Shoe Museum opened its doors at 327 Bloor Street West. The five-storey, 39,000 square foot building, designed by Moriyama and Teshima Architects, is truly unique. As a world class specialized museum, it has become a major destination point for both visitors and residents alike.