Examining shoes using slow looking

This activity has been inspired by the theory of ‘slow looking’ which is most commonly used in museums and art galleries to support visitors to engage with pieces of art more meaningfully. The Tate Museum offers some very helpful top tips on how to facilitate and encourage slow looking.

The six images in this activity have been specifically selected to explore learners’ perspectives of shoes and as objects associated unconsciously and consciously with socio-economic status, gender and notions of ‘types’ of people. Shoes have changed over time particularly as cultural items have been relocated or reconceptualised into new cultures.

This is the first activity in a series of resources designed around shoes. See the others below:

• Examining shoes using slow looking
• Exploring shoes around the world
• Branding and shoe design
• Designing shoes for the environment
• Shoe poverty at home and abroad

SHAPE is a collective name for social sciences, humanities and the arts. SHAPE subjects play a vital role within our communities and in shaping our lives – past, present and future. SHAPE skills give us the tools to enact change and allow us to better understand the world by providing a myriad of ways to express, analyse and interpret our global world and human experiences.

For more information about the underpinning principles of the resources, visit our website.