Upcoming Events - by Date

Saturday Shenanigans: Family Fun at the Bata Shoe Museum

Bring the family to the Museum and step into a special Saturday. Combine learning and fun as you explore the exhibitions and enjoy the afternoon with us. Perfect for families with children ages three to nine.

Join us during the month of February for Olympic Shenanigans where kids can paint a clog gold, make a gold medal and treasure hunt for gold, silver and bronze shoes!

Paint-a-Mini-Clog Sundays

Parents, the next time you hear "There’s nothing to do!" bring your children aged 3 to 9 over to the Museum to paint a mini-clog, try on shoes, and explore the galleries!

Join Museum docents every Saturday and Sunday as they provide you with first hand information about one of Toronto's most unique and surprising destinations! Tour is free with Museum admission.

Sunday, February 7, 2:00-2:45 pm

Saturday, February 13, 10:30-11:15 am

Sunday, February 14, 2:00-2:45 pm

Saturday, February 20, 2:00-2:45 pm

Sunday, February 21, 2:00-2:45 pm

On a Pedestal: From Renaissance Chopines to Baroque Heels

The Bata Shoe Museum is pleased to announce a once-in-a-lifetime experience for visitors this fall. Bringing together an international collection of exceptionally rare examples of fashionable shoes, the much anticipated exhibition On a Pedestal will focus on two of the most extreme forms of footwear ever worn in Western dress, the chopine and the high heel.

Marking the first time that such an extensive collection of shoes from the Renaissance and early Baroque periods will be brought together under one roof, prestigious lenders from all over Europe have contributed rare artefacts to this exhibit which will examine the origins and cultural meanings of both the chopine and high heel, as well as investigating issues of art and architecture, exoticism and trade, and politics and gender.

Click here to find out more information about our special Renaissance lecture and music series.

Year of the Tiger – Celebrating Chinese New Year at the Bata Shoe Museum

Snapshot exhibit on display from February 3 - March 12, 2010

This temporary exhibition will feature a unique selection of rare artefacts from collection of Glenn & Judy Roberts.

Born in a Year of the Tiger? If you were born in 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, or 2010, get in free with proof of your birth date between February 9th and 28th, 2010!

‘Til Ten at the BSM

See the Bata Shoe Museum in a whole different light! On Wednesday, February 17th, the BSM is staying open late to let you experience a one of a kind night at the Museum. Take in the culture and history of our galleries, including complimentary tours by Museum docents. Relax and sip cocktails in our elegant ‘Til Ten lounge, take in the performance art piece and photograph exhibition of performance artist faye mullen, and enjoy the sounds of a live DJ.  Don’t miss your chance to experience the fresh and fun side of the BSM during ‘Til Ten.

Get on the guest list and skip the lineup!  Email rsvp@batashoemuseum.ca!

Redefining the Modern: Footwear in Early Modern and Contemporary Europe. 
Illustrated Talk by Wendy Sepponen, University of Toronto, Fine Arts

To better understand the global and historical influence and exchange that resulted in examples of truly remarkable shoe fashions, join lecturer Wendy Sepponen as she examines footwear from Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary Europe.

Copyright © Collection of Skokloster Castle, Sweden (Photo: Göran Schmidt)

Hands On Demonstration

Who said you can't touch at a Museum! Join a talented Museum docent for an up close and personal look (and touch) at footwear from our hands on collection in the Beauty, Identity & Pride exhibition. Fun for the entire family.

International Women’s Day Lecture: 
Heights of Fashion: A History of the Elevated Shoe:
Illustrated Talk by Elizabeth Semmelhack, Curator, Bata Shoe Museum

Common sense suggests that shoes should protect our feet and aid our mobility but the high heel challenges this----it is not a sensible shoe. So why, then, do millions of women, but very few men, wear them? How did such an impractical shoe come to be a potent signifier of status and more importantly, gender? This talk will address these questions by going beyond a simple charting of shifting modes of dress and engage with a wide range of subjects: East-West trade and the lure of the exotic; the expression of socio-economic status through impractical dress; and gender politics and the construction of eroticized femininity.

Extreme Footwear! March Break Madness at the Bata Shoe Museum

Tall and teeny, strange and pointy, we’re pulling out all the extremes for March Break 2010!

Kids can take part in all our extreme-themed arts and crafts including decorating an extremely tall cookie, painting an extremely teeny clog and creating an extremely cool shoe fridge magnet!  Go on a treasure hunt for extreme footwear in the Museum galleries.  Also, pitch in and help us decorate an extremely giant moccasin and take part in our extremely big shoe project which will be part of a collective collage!

Storytelling Festival of Toronto 

The Bata Shoe Museum is proud to host an afternoon of the annual Toronto Festival of Storytelling. These storytelling sessions are designed to delight and entertain children and parents. Bring the family and let your imagination be broadened by the wonder of storytelling!

Who said you can't touch at a Museum! Join a talented Museum docent for an up close and personal look (and touch) at footwear from our hands on collection in the Beauty, Identity & Pride exhibition. Fun for the entire family.