See your shoes appear in a new exhibition at the Cuming Museum

It's the first time the council's museum has used a digital photo library in this way and the Walking in my shoes flickr group has already received a lot of submissions.

The Cuming Museum has already been working with young people in Southwark to develop an exhibition about the shoes we wear and the journeys we make in them inspired by over 50 pairs of historic shoes from the museum's collection.  

This collection already contains shoes such as wedding shoes worn by a local woman, Eliza Sandwell at Camden Church Camberwell on her wedding day in 1893, and silk shoes which belonged to Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough (1660 -1744), then known as one of the richest women in Europe. It's hoped this new exhibition will unearth some even more interesting stories.  

The Walking in my shoes exhibition is part of London 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme Stories of the World which presents exciting new museum exhibitions across the UK, created by young people. In London, Stories of the World is led by Renaissance London and will transform 23 museums across 17 boroughs by drawing on the skills, energy and enthusiasm of young Londoners to help them tell the story of London as a world city.  

The project is led by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) in partnership with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).  

Cllr Veronica Ward, cabinet member for culture, leisure, sport and Olympics at Southwark Council, said:  

"Our shoes can tell a lot about who we are - our interests, our need for comfort or style, our taste. They also hold within them interesting stories from our lives - the places we've travelled to in them, the special occasions we've attended in them, maybe even the sporting events we've won in them. I really hope the public of Southwark get into the spirit of this exhibition, show off their footwear, and tell us the interesting stories behind their shoes."  

Hannah Guthrie, education officer at the Cuming Museum added: "This is a really exciting opportunity for people to get involved with an exhibition at the Cuming Museum and see their work in the gallery. We've not used Flickr in this way before so we're really interested to see how this can contribute now and in the future"

Photo caption: Wedding shoes worn by a local woman, Eliza Sandwell at Camden Church Camberwell on her wedding day in 1893.

Further details

Walking in my shoes will open at the Cuming Museum on Friday 10 December 2010. The flickr group is an opportunity for anyone to contribute to the exhibition online and have the chance for their images to be selected for display in the exhibition. 

Walking in my shoes is part of Stories of the World which presents exciting new museum exhibitions across the UK , created by young people. Stories of the World is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme. The project is led by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) in partnership with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).  

In London , Stories of the World is led by Renaissance London and will transform 23 museums across 17 boroughs by drawing on the skills, energy and enthusiasm of young Londoners to help them tell the story of London as a world city.   

Walking in my shoes runs at the Cuming Museum from 10 December 2010 to 23 April 2011.  

To add your images to Flickr visit www.flickr.com/groups/walkinginmyshoes

For more information contact The Cuming Museum 020 7525 2332 cuming.museum@southwark.gov.uk

Feel free to submit photos of shoes or designs for shoes. Adding information about the journeys you have made in the shoes, however long or short, will be a bonus! Every month we'll select our favourite images to be included in the museum exhibition. Images will be selected by museum staff and young people involved in the exhibition.  

The Cuming Museum is the home of the worldwide collection of the Cuming Family and the museum of Southwark 's history. It houses a diverse collection that includes archaeology, ethnography, social history and natural history. A mix of permanent and changing exhibitions tells the story of the Cuming family and the history of Southwark, from Roman times to the diverse communities of today. The museum is open to the public Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm. The museum entrance is free.

The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements.  Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people. Millions of people around the UK are already part of the Cultural Olympiad, through the Inspire programme and Open Weekend.

The finale of the Cultural Olympiad will be in a twelve week UK-wide festival in the summer of 2012, bringing together leading artists from all over the world.

The Cultural Olympiad has benefited from a National Lottery grant of £15.6 million from the Olympic Lottery Distributor. Other funders include The Legacy Trust and Arts Council England. British Council will commit £3million to the international development of London 2012 Cultural Olympiad projects. BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad. Panasonic are the presenting partner of Film Nation: Shorts.