Inside Bata Shoe Museum's beaded footwear exhibition, Brilliant, now open in Toronto
The exhibition brings together more than 85 objects, including a pair of platforms Madonna wore in 1993.
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Bata Shoe Museum has opened Brilliant: The Art of Beaded Footwear Around the World, a show of more than 85 objects spanning Africa, Europe, South Asia, Western Asia and Turtle Island across more than 400 years of history.
The pieces range from elaborate Yoruba regalia made over a century ago to Persian footwear decorated with 19th-century glass beads. Visitors will also see an Italian pair of platforms worn by Madonna in 1993. The exhibition is framed around the skill, time and meaning that beadwork has carried in many cultures, from status and identity to spirituality.
The show runs until April 28 at the museum, 327 Bloor St. W. General admission is $16. A Curator's Talk with Director and Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack is set for Nov. 30 at 7 p.m., with tickets at $25. Two Indigenous beading workshops are also scheduled: Nov. 7 at 11 a.m., where participants make a beaded poppy, and Jan. 23 at 11 a.m., focused on hoop earrings. Each workshop costs $65.
