Sarasota Art Museum Presents
Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks
as part of National Tour
Featuring over 70 distinctive pieces, this forward-thinking exhibition explores innovative design and the wearable tech movement with footwear that steps into the future
Collection of Mr. Bailey. Courtesy American Federation of Arts and the Bata Shoe Museum.
SARASOTA, FL. (Dec. 2, 2024) – Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design (SAM) presents Future Now: Visual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks, an exhibition celebrating innovative design and technological advancements in footwear. Featuring over 70 pieces from Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum, as well as loans from other prominent institutions, collectors, designers, and inventors, the exhibited footwear pushes the boundaries of what constitutes a shoe. Beyond an exhibition of dozens of “cool kicks,” Future Now asks viewers to consider questions about consumerism, sustainability, and what the history of human footwear says about us: its wearers. On view from February 9 through May 4, 2025, in Sarasota Art Museum’s third-floor galleries, Future Now is co-organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Bata Shoe Museum.
Exhibit highlights include digitally designed and 3D printed shoes, sneakers made from such unconventional materials as mushroom leather and reclaimed ocean plastics, and the Nike Mag, known for its audience-wowing “power lace” technology, as famously showcased by Michael J. Fox in the hit Back to the Future movie trilogy. Featured designers and brands include: Salehe Bembury, rtfkt, Mr. Bailey, Zaha Hadid, JEMS by Pensole, Safa Şahin, EKTO VR, Saysh, Benoit Méléard, SCRY, and many more.
Courtesy of the Department of Nike Archives, American Federation of Arts, and Bata Shoe Museum.
“This exhibition truly speaks to museumgoers of all walks of life,” said Virginia Shearer, Executive Director of Sarasota Art Museum. “Shoes, themselves, are ubiquitous. Humans have been wearing them for at least 40,000 years. And yet, shoes can also be so very personal. We use expressions like, ‘To walk a mile in someone else’s shoes,’ as a way of describing what it means to understand another person’s lived experience. So, my hope for our community is that Future Now brings a wide range of people together at Sarasota Art Museum and that they walk away with a new appreciation for how art and design are deeply engrained in our everyday lives and who we are as humans.”
The idea for this showcase evolved from a previous collaboration between AFA and Bata Shoe Museum—Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture. The original exhibit marked the first North American exhibition to chart the history of sneaker culture. Between 2015 and 2017, Out of the Box traveled to seven cities, including Toronto, Canada, and Perth, Australia. Building upon Out of the Box’s success, Future Now examines contemporary advancements in footwear and the sneaker’s role in the wearable tech movement.
“Across the continent and internationally, we witnessed the transformative effect this exhibition had on communities: museumgoers, the young and young-at-heart adored and galvanized around the exhibition,” said Pauline Forlenza, Director & CEO of American Federation of Arts of Out of the Box. “As accessible as they are aspirational, sneakers have a magical way of inspiring us to share the stories of who we once were, and who we yearn to become. Future Now expands upon the dreams that Out of the Box encouraged, provoking us to think not just about our personal narratives, but society and sustainability at home and in the uncharted lands of virtual reality.”
Collection of Brad Factor. Courtesy American Federation of Arts and the Bata Shoe Museum.
Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks debuted at Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, in March of 2024. The exhibition is currently on view at Newfields: A Place for Nature & the Arts in Indianapolis, Indiana, through January 2025. After its Sarasota premiere, the show will continue to Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa, before traveling to Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina.
This exhibition at Sarasota Art Museum is made possible, in part, with generous support from Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation and Sarasota Magazine, and is paid for, in part, by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax revenues.
Related Public Programs:
Opening Day Talk and Book Signing: Joe Fig
Nov. 16, 1-3 p.m.
Free to Museum members, $20 for not-yet members (includes Museum admission)
Enjoy an engaging conversation between artist Joe Fig and Sarasota Art Museum Senior Curator Rangsook Yoon, Ph.D. as they explore the themes and inspirations behind Fig’s exhibition, “Contemplating Vermeer.” Discover the evolution of Fig’s artistic journey, the conceptual development of his “Contemplation” series and the unique insights that shaped the works on view. Whether you’re an art enthusiast or curious about the intersection of contemporary and historical influences in visual culture, this talk promises a thought-provoking look into Fig’s creative process and his homage to Vermeer.
About Sarasota Art Museum
Sarasota Art Museum is Ringling College of Art and Design’s dynamic laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art. As Sarasota’s only museum solely focused on contemporary artists and their work, Sarasota Art Museum offers visitors a place to see thought-provoking exhibitions and participate in education programs that start conversations and amplify the city’s creative spirit.
Located in the historic Sarasota High School, Sarasota Art Museum opened to the public in 2019 and features 15,000 square feet of dedicated exhibition space, the outdoor Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza, the Great Lawn featuring temporary sculpture and site-specific installations, Bistro, and SHOP. Sarasota Art Museum is home to a robust portfolio of education programs for all ages, including The Studios at SAM, a vibrant studio arts program, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Ringling College, which offers a variety of courses for adult learners.
Sarasota Art Museum is located at 1001 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida, 34236. To stay in the know, become a Sarasota Art Museum Member, sign up for Museum email updates, visit our website at SarasotaArtMuseum.org, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
About The Bata Shoe Museum
With a growing international collection of nearly 15,000 shoes and related artifacts, the Bata Shoe Museum showcases 4,500 years of footwear history in four distinctive rotating galleries. Through the creation of its innovative exhibitions, the BSM strives to enlighten and entertain visitors of all ages. For every shoe there’s a story.
About American Federation of Arts
The American Federation of Arts is the leader in traveling exhibitions internationally. A nonprofit organization founded in 1909, the AFA is dedicated to enriching the public’s experience and understanding of the visual arts through organizing and touring art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishing exhibition catalogues featuring important scholarly research, and developing educational programs
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