Shoes old and new unveiled in a new exhibition at the Cuming Museum

Southwark's Cuming Museum has launched a major exhibition featuring shoes from the museum's collection alongside contemporary shoes designed by a group of local young people and pictures of shoes submitted via Flickr. 

The Walking In My Shoes exhibition features over 50 pairs of shoes from all over the world, in an exhibition that explores the shoes that we wear and the journeys we make in them.   

Earlier in the year we asked people to take a photo of their favourite shoes, upload them to the Walking In My Shoes Flickr group, and see them appear in the exhibition - a selection of these images will appear in the exhibition. There is also an opportunity for visitors to the exhibition to take a photograph of the shoes they are visiting in, which will also be added to the exhibition.  

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. 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). 

Shoes from the museum's collection include

• Wedding shoes worn by a local woman on her wedding day in Camberwell in1893
• Silk shoes which belonged to the Duchess of Marlborough (1660 -1744), then known as one of the richest women in Europe .
• Shoes (1880 - 1914) which belonged to a high status woman from the Chinese Manchu court. They are yellow silk - yellow was a colour strictly limited to those closest to the Emperor.  

These are displayed alongside contemporary designs by the young people who worked with artist Janetka Platun to design footwear inspired by their own journeys and experiences.  

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

"The response from the public to this idea has been really good, and obviously people have a very special relationship with their footwear and are keen to tell their shoes' stories. I'm also excited that Walking in My Shoes is our first exhibition as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, which I feel is a great way to get people engaged in the cultural side of the Games."

More information about the exhibition

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

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. There is a full events programme for families, adults and young people and people can get involved and have the chance to see their shoes in the exhibition by joining our Flickr group.

For further information about Walking in my shoes contact Catherine Hamilton on 020 75252169  or Hannah Guthrie 020 7525 2096.