Posted by | Ray Cornelius
Atlanta’s High Museum of Art will examine the sneaker’s complex social history and its immense cultural significance in a new exhibit, The Rise of Sneaker Culture, beginning June 11-August 14, 2016. This exhibition includes 155 sneakers and follows the evolution of the sneaker from its origins in the mid-nineteenth century to its role in the present day as a status symbol of urban culture and marker of masculine identity.
Included are works from the archives of manufacturers such as Adidas, Converse, Nike, Puma, and Reebok as well as private collectors such as hip-hop legend Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, sneaker guru Bobbito Garcia, and Dee Wells of Obsessive Sneaker Disorder. Also featured are sneakers by Prada and other major fashion design houses and designers as well as those made in collaboration with artists including Damien Hirst and Kanye West. Film footage, interactive media, photographic images, and design drawings contextualize the sneakers and explore the social history, technical innovations, fashion trends, and marketing campaigns that have shaped sneaker culture over the past two centuries.
The Rise of Sneaker Culture is organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Bata Shoe Museum. The exhibition is curated by Elizabeth Semmelhack, Senior Curator of the Bata Shoe Museum.
Check out a video below from COMPLEX on the “Rise of Sneaker Culture” exhibit when it opened at the Brooklyn Museum in 2015:
Photo Credits: Ebony.com and BrooklynMuseum.org
