Future Now features around sixty futuristic designs from the Bata Shoe Museum’s holdings as well as loans from prominent institutions, collectors, designers, and inventors. It explores how cutting-edge technologies, unexpected materials, and new ideas are transforming footwear today. The exhibition includes digitally designed and 3D-printed shoes, sneakers made from mushroom leather and reclaimed ocean plastics, and footwear created for the metaverse.
Featured designers and brands include: Salehe Bembury, Steven Smith, RTFKT, Mr. Bailey, Zaha Hadid, D’Wayne Edwards, Nike ISPA, Safe Sahin, Tom Sachs, EKTO VR, Saysh, Benoît Méléard, SCRY, and more.
Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks is co-organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Bata Shoe Museum.
Education for the Arts is proud to partner with the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts for this exhibition.
From sneakers created to address issues related to sustainability and inclusion to shoes that blur the line between the real world and the metaverse, this exhibition explores how forward-looking creators are helping us step into the future. – Elizabeth Semmelhack, Director and Senior Curator, Bata Shoe Museum