Venue, Timing and Cost
New Brewery Arts is excited to announce a new exhibition. Shoes Have Names, a collaboration with conceptual fashion designer Jo Cope and Shelter. Stories of homelessness have never been told like this before.
Ten international artists, shoemakers and designers were paired up with a formally homeless person that Shelter has helped through its frontline services. The show features a collection of handmade artworks inspired by the personal experiences of real people facing homelessness. From shoes made out of an old sofa, to the use of the latest CAD software and 3D printing.
The show opens 29th January and runs until Sunday 3rd April 2022, entry is free.
The show was originally put on at Shelter’s flagship Boutique Shop in Coal Drop Yard, London as part of the 2020 London Craft Week. The show comes to New Brewery Arts highlighting two areas close to the organisation's values – the beautifully crafted shoes by renowned artists speak to the centre’s high-quality craft values. In 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic New Brewery Arts opened its Barrel Store accommodation to homeless people in need, this exhibition resonates and helps to remind us that homelessness has many ‘looks’ and exists in Cirencester, it speaks to New Brewery Arts values of working with and supporting our local communities.
The exhibition aims to raise awareness of the thousands of people tackling evictions, poor housing conditions, landlord issues and homelessness. But Shelter gives hope. With the right support and by working together, people can fight bad housing and make a positive change. The exhibition is also working towards removing a stigma around homelessness. These very personal examples of a homeless experience highlight the many ‘faces’ of homelessness, and the reality of the issue being so close to home.
Each shoe or pair of shoes created by the designers are named after the person who’s been supported by Shelter. The designers have been asked to create a unique design reflecting the stories of the individuals using the materials they are most comfortable using from their current design specialisms.
The show has a dominating/striking red aesthetic– Jo Cope explains; ‘there is an emergency, there is a housing crisis, it is a call to action, that is what the red is about’.
Beth Alden CEO New Brewery Arts said: “We’re all about craft and its role in society. Shoes Have Names uses creativity and craft skills to expose the stigma of homelessness and hopefully, start some meaningful, positive conversations that foster a better community.”
Jo Cope, artist and exhibition producer, said: “Shoes Have Names aims to use fashion as a positive vehicle to create greater public awareness of homelessness. It also celebrates the amazing work of Shelter. This year, as the pandemic took hold and more and more people found themselves facing their own housing crisis, Shelter’s services have never been more vital.
“I believe fashion can play an evolving role in society. This project uses shoes as an empathetic vessel, bringing together a highly talented community of designers to create shoes which tell real life stories of people who have faced homelessness.
"Fashion's role in society is changing; this fashion project reflects the need for ethical shifts in the fashion industry towards something more human-centred. Naming shoes after real people supported by Shelter is a way of giving these people back their place in society and a positive identity, which can sometimes be lost by the blanket term 'homeless’.
Contributing artists:
Kobi Levi, Elisabeth Thorsen, Kristina Walsh, Liz Ciokajlo, Tabitha Ringwood, Daniel Charkow, Dr Ellen Sampson, Caroline Groves, Jana Zornik, Jackie Leggett
Further Information
Imagery: A selection of print quality images of our designers, their shoes, workshops and client images are available for print and web, please call the Shelter Media Team with your request on Press_Office@shelter.org.uk - Please credit all imagery to Dan Lowe, at www.DanLowe.tv
About Shelter: Shelter exists to defend the right to a safe home and fight the devastating impact the housing emergency has on people and society. Shelter believes that home is everything. Learn more at www.shelter.org.uk.
About Jo Cope: Shoes Have Names director Jo Cope is a conceptual fashion designer and alumni of the London Collage of Fashion. Her work crosses the boundaries of Fashion, Art, Craft and performance, drawing from universal human experiences, psychology, philosophy and social trends. She has shown at many prestigious global events (Venice Biennale fringe festival, London Craft Week, London Design Festival) and her footwear artefacts have been exhibited internationally (including The Budapest Museum of Art, State Museum Russia and Decorative Arts Museum Paris). She defines her work as being focused on “the human side of fashion.” www.jocope.com @jocopeconceptualfashion
About New Brewery Arts: New Brewery Arts is a charity that connects people with the hand-made, promotes the joy and fulfilment of making and celebrates the role of craft and creativity in all our lives. www.newbreweryarts.org.uk @newbreweryarts
About the Shoes Have Names collaborators:
Kobi Levi: Design and shoes have been Kobi Levi's passion since his childhood in Tel Aviv, Israel. His first shoe designs were created during his high school days. They were made from cardboard back then. Following his passion, in 2001 he graduated from Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem, since working as a freelance footwear designer. Kobi has had global attention for his unique shoe designs, including being worn by Whoopi Goldberg and his Double Boot which featured in Lady Gaga's “Born this Way” video.
www.kobilevidesign.com @kobilevidesign
Elisabeth Thorsen: Elisabeth is a Norwegian shoemaker and artist inspired by fairy tales and nature, who also sings and performs as part of her wider creative practice. Approaching her footwear projects as if she were making a piece of art, her shoes go beyond the functional. Key is her experimental use of unusual materials not commonly used for shoemaking, she has upcycled pencils, carpets, ice, sugar and sports tape. Her work has shown internationally, including Kunsthalle Budapest, Kunsthaus Wien in Germany, Krakow, Abu Dhabi and Oslo.
www.madebybetty.com @ElisabethThorsen
Kristina Walsh: Creating accessories, prosthetic limbs, and installations, Kristina’s work is underpinned with research into psychology and social theories, and her aesthetic is otherworldly characterized by sensual forms. Her work explores how design can enhance the human experience;
aiming to impact human behaviour by cultivating new relationships with one’s self and others. Her prosthetics are currently on show as part of Body Control at Museum Arnhem.
http://Kris-walsh.com @kristinaWalsh
Liz Ciokajlo: Liz Ciokajlo is a footwear designer, educator and researcher bringing years of experience working as a product, furniture and fashion accessories designer to her practice and company OUROWNSKIN. The aim of the work is to bring a fresh look at how materials and technologies can underpin and reshape fashion footwear at the most emotive levels. The focus of the work is bio and natural materials, 3D print processes, the body and how this will alter footwear constructions; seeing this combination as futuristic and decisively female. Liz has worked on innovation projects with footwear companies, on research teams and exhibits internationally, MoMA - Museum of Modern Art New York (Items: Is Fashion Modern), 2019 Venice Triennial (Broken Nature) and The Design Museum London (shortlisted for 2018 Beazley Designs of the Year and currently in Moving to Mars).
http://ourownskin.co.uk @LizCiokajlo
Tabitha Ringwood: Tabitha Ringwood is a bespoke footwear designer. Her shoes explore the sense of touch through a variety of recycled materials and textures; With an unprecedented look and feel, her tactile shoes are the result of a complex, entirely handcrafted manufacturing process and extensive research. The enigmatic nature of her shoes are the culmination of moral values (using off-cuts and reclaimed materials) combined with a vision that has matured over the years. Tabitha's bespoke made to order shoes are sold at London concept store 50ml.
www.tabitharingwood.com @tabitharingwood
Daniel Charkow: Daniel Charkow is an emerging shoemaker and designer who combines art and technology with traditional shoe making techniques. Inspired by Lady Gaga’s fierce fashion and bold choices, at age twelve Daniel created his first shoe. Falling in love with the art, Daniel pursued shoemaking and has interned with the likes of Steve Madden, Ron White, and Aldo. Recently, Daniel’s designs were shown twice at London Fashion Week in collaboration with graduate designers. Dan is currently studying shoe design at London College of Fashion.
@shoe_man_dan
Dr Ellen Sampson: Ellen Sampson is an artist and Professorial Fellow in Fashion at University of the Creative Arts. Her work explores the relationships between bodies, memory and clothing, both in museums and archives, and in everyday life. Ellen has a PhD from Royal College of Art, London and was 2018-19 Polaire Weismann Fellow at The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. She is currently . Ellen's solo exhibition Emotional Objects is currently touring in various venues across the United States.
www.ellensampson.com @the_afterlives_of_clothes
Caroline Groves: British label Caroline Groves is dedicated to crafting beautiful women’s shoes. She has enjoyed over 20 years in the trade and established her eponymous bespoke footwear company in 2003. She has since built up an international following for her hand-sculpted, wearable collector’s items. Her passion for, and knowledge of leatherwork, needlecraft and textiles informs the nature of her work and designs, fusing a diverse range of influences into a style that is completely her own.
www.carolinegroves.co.uk @carolinegroves
Jana Zornik: Jana uses found objects from ordinary life, translating them into extraordinary crafted artefacts that carry new identities, memories and emotional states. Originally from Slovenia, Jana has won numerous design awards including Dutch Design Week 2009- Contribution to Sustainable Development in Society and ITS Swatch Award 2016. During her Masters at LCF she received the Proctor and Gamble "Better Lives" and Fashion Matters Awards.
www.janazornik.com @janazornik
Jackie Leggett: The designer/maker behind Jackie Loves Clogs, Jackie Leggett reworks the traditional British clog, pushing the designs forward by making them colourful and contemporary. Her work pays homage to her Great Grandfather; a clog maker in Maryport Cumbria. She is engaged in bringing her modern handmade clogs to a new audience whilst spotlighting and enhancing the heritage craft of clog making. Jackie's work has shown at many prestigious craft shows winning awards including 'makers mark' from Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen.
www.jackielovesclogs.co.uk @jackielovesclogs
About Coal Drops Yard: Coal Drops Yard is a new shopping and restaurant district in London’s King’s Cross. Coal Drops Yard was originally established in 1850 to handle the eight million tonnes of coal delivered to the capital each year and was latterly the location of nightclubs Bagley’s and The Cross. The area reopened in October 2018, reinvented by the acclaimed Heatherwick Studio, which has interwoven a contemporary design with the surviving structures and rich ironwork of the original Victorian coal drops. Located within a reimagined set of historic buildings and arches directly adjacent to Granary Square and Regent’s Canal, Coal Drops Yard houses over fifty stores from a unique mix of established and emerging brands, along with cafés, bars, top independent restaurants and new public spaces.
About the Shoes Have Names Blog: A blog has been set up for the event, to track the designers thoughts and journey from design to creations: ShoesHaveNames.com
Exhibition to be held at:
New Brewery Arts,
BREWERY COURT,
CIRENCESTER,
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
GL7 1JH
Monday 9am – 5pm Tuesday 10am – 5pm Wednesday 9am – 5pm Thursday 9am – 5pm Friday 9am – 5pm Saturday 9am – 5pm Sunday - closed
With financial support from Gloucestershire County Council https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk