Extras

Katherine started The Shoe Project in Toronto in 2011. She knew newcomer women had much to give to Canada but were often sidelined by lack of writing and speaking skills in English. Knowing that women especially- journalists, teachers, psychologists, nannies or homemakers-  were eager to join the  Canadian conversation, she created a writing workshop for them. When Elizabeth Semmelhack, now Creative Director of The Bata Shoe Museum, offered the use of the museum’s lunchroom as a meeting place, it became obvious that the topic would be shoes. So it began, with twelve women from five continents sitting around a table, drinking tea. In wide-ranging and often emotional conversations, they explored “the shoes I left behind,” “the shoes I wore to cross the border,” and “the shoes I dreamed I would wear in my new life.”

THE SHOE PROJECT was active across Canada for twelve years. It held workshops and performances in cities from the east coast to the west, including Halifax, Antigonish, Kingston, Toronto, Brampton, Windsor, Winnipeg, Calgary, Canmore, Edmonton and Vancouver. In 2023 The Shoe Project ceased operating as a charitable organization, and became a program of the YWCA Canada. This is a brilliant step-up and begins the next chapter of The Shoe Project. Learn more about the YWCA’s activities here:
https://ywcacanada.ca/what-we-do/projects-initiatives/the-shoe-project/

And, bonus! The 350 ‘shoe stories’ our participants have written and performed, celebrating their arrival in Canada, remain online and can be freely accessed. Find them here:
www.theshoeprojectstories.com