Hand Made in America: Contemporary Custom Footwear

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courtesy UW Center for Design and Material Culture.

A pair of handmade shoes.

"Artist? Artisan?" by Jesse Moore; part of the exhibit "Hand Made in America: Contemporary Custom Footwear."

We are so used to mass-produced shoes we have mostly forgotten that they can be made for a specific someone's foot — and be works of art. The shoes and boots in “Hand Made in America: Contemporary Custom Footwear” come from 11 makers from across the United States who are part of a renaissance of handmade footwear. Curator, shoemaker and artist Amara Hark-Weber will speak along with others at 4 p.m. on Feb. 9, followed by an opening reception. Current gallery hours: 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday; and noon-4 pm Saturday-Sunday.

media release: Hand Made in America: Contemporary Custom Footwear will open on February 8, 2023, in the Lynn Mecklenburg Textile Gallery. Curated by shoemaker and artist Amara Hark-Weber, this exhibition features 11 accomplished shoe and boot makers working across the United States. These makers build upon tradition in the creation of modern bespoke footwear. In conversation with historic shoes from the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, the work featured ranges from sculptural to practical, from traditional to conceptual.

This exhibition, on display through May 14, features shoe and boot makers Daphne Board, Greg Carmack, Rachel Corry, Sarah Guerin, Paul Krause, Lee Miller, Jesse Moore, Marcell Mrsan, Lisa Sorrell, Francis Waplinger and Amara Hark-Weber.

There will be a public lecture on February 9th at 4pm featuring boot and shoemakers Amara Hark-Weber, Jesse Moore, Sarah Guerin and director and senior curator of the Bata Shoe Museum Elizabeth Semmelheck followed by an exhibition opening reception from 5-7pm in the Lynn Mecklenburg Textile Gallery