museums

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International African American Museum: An Enduring Footprint

Musuems and Galleries African Slave Being Shackled

The mayor of Charleston, South Carolina announced the construction of a $75 million, 42,000-square-foot International African American Museum. Its site commemorates a wharf where tens of thousands of slaves first set foot in the United States.

Plans for the IAAM include –

  • Arrival Walk, a promenade with themes such as “African Paths to the Coast,” “The Eight Week Passage,” and “The Economics of Slave Trade.”
  • Memorial Wall, a testimonial of individuals.
  • Memorial Walk, a memorial those who perished en route.
  • 882 Markers embedded in the ground, a tribute to the 882 slave ships

They expect to break ground in early 2016.

http://fox11online.com/2014/07/15/museum-to-be-built-where-slaves-set-foot-in-us/

http://www.iaamuseum.org/arrival-square/

Photo Source:

http://americancivilwarphotographs.blogspot.ca/2012/06/african-slave-ships.html

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National Museum in Manila: Imelda Marcos’ Shoes Don’t Shine

museums Galleries Imelda Marcos shoes

Imelda Marcos became known worldwide for her massive shoe collection. She was often used as a symbol of excess in the Philippines, where many residents were forced to walk barefoot due to the extreme level of poverty in nation. The flamboyant first lady’s infamous footwear collection is housed in the National Museum in Manila. The once beautiful and expensive designer shoes have now been ravaged by termites, storm damage, and just overall neglect.

The enormous shoe collection was among the belongings left behind when the former Philippines’ first lady and her dictator spouse were driven from the country by a revolt in 1986.

http://www.inquisitr.com/341699/imelda-marcos-former-philippines-first-ladys-show-collection-ruined-by-neglect/

Photo Source:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2207353/Imelda-Marcos-legendary-3-000-plus-shoe-collection-destroyed-termites-floods-neglect.html

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Bata Shoe Museum: The Rise of Sneaker Culture

museum galleries Bata out of the box

The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto is a cultural gem in a shoe-box-like structure designed by famed architect Raymond Moriyama. Boasting a collection of 13,000 shoes and related artifacts, the museum has four galleries, with displays ranging from Chinese bound-foot shoes and ancient Egyptian sandals to chestnut-crushing clogs and glam platforms.

The current special exhibit “Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture” explores the history of the sneaker with some 120 running shoes from the past 150 years. On view are some of the rarest sneakers from the archives of Adidas, Nike, Reebok, PUMA, Converse and England’s Northampton Museums and Art Gallery, with the largest collection of historical footwear in the world. On loan are shoes from rap music legends Run DMC, sneaker guru Bobbito Garcia aka Kool Bob Love and Dee Wells from OSD (Obsessive Sneaker Disorder).

Now termed a “status symbol and icon of urban culture,” the historical beginnings of the sneaker are shown from its emergence in the 19th century to becoming “one of the most democratic forms of footwear” in the 20th century.

http://www.torontosun.com/2014/01/15/out-of-the-box-at-torontos-bata-shoe-museum

www.batashoemuseum.ca