"Walk In Their Mukluks" Exhibition
Featuring Manitobah Mukluks' Storyboot Project
Manitobah Mukluks
Website: http://www.manitobah.ca
Mission Statement
I wish to acknowledge the artisans behind Manitobah Mukluks and also to shine a light on how an aboriginal-owned company like Manitobah Mukluks can promote Indigenous culture and tradition through hand-crafted art.
Art From the Top of the Mukluk to its Sole
"Walk In Their Mukluks" featuring Manitobah Mukluks' Storyboot Project
Friday, Sep 18, 2015, 11:00 AM
Ramada Edmonton Hotel & Conference Centre, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Storyboot Project
Storyboots are an one-of-a-kind mukluks and moccasins that are handcrafted as part of the Storyboot project. The project's aim is to revive the traditional Aboriginal arts by creating partnerships with elders and artisans who fashion mukluks and moccasins the traditional way. From these artists, Manitobah commissions one-of-a-kind footwear and then produces a limited collection of replicas called Storyboots. Storyboots are at the heart of the Manitobah footwear collection and are made available at luxury retailers in every corner of the globe. Manitobah Mukluks also enables the artisans to reach a wider range of consumers by placing their pieces for sale through the Manitobah website. And for every Storyboot sold, the full 100% of the proceed goes back to the artisan who made the Storyboot. The artisans who are a part of this project are not limited to solely the Manitoba region, but rather there are Aboriginal Storyboot artisans all over Canada and some even from the U.S.
Showcasing Artisans...
Rosa Scribe
Rosa Scribe is a Cree artisan who has been making mukluks for over 25 years, she learnt the techniques through her grandmother. Today, Rosa teaches the art of mukluk making at The College of the North. She also uses the proceeds she has earned from the Storyboot project to fund supplies and materials for her students. Her mukluks and other art pieces consist of her beautiful beadwork and she was called on to design beadwork patterns for "The Kanada Collection", a portion of the profit will go toward a mukluk-making class to ensure that the tradition of mukluk making gets passed down through generations.
ROSA SCRIBE (L-M) BEADED RABBIT FUR HAT
ROSA SCRIBE WHITE NAPPA GLOVES (M)
ROSA SCRIBE TAN SUEDE & RABBIT FUR BEADED MUKLUKS (L8)
Greg "Biskakone" Johnson
Greg "Biskakone" Johnson is from the Lac Du Flambeau band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Wisconsin. Biskakone is a passionate Anishinaabe hunter and artisan. He uses the buckskin he skins from the deers he hunts to make moccasins, coin bags, baskets and other pieces of art. He is passionate about keeping traditions alive, he does his part by teaching fellow community members the art of making buckskin moccasins, his class is called the "Lac Du Flambeau Moccasin Club".
Split Toe Old Style Moccasins
Velvet Mittens – Mink Fur
Jamie Gentry
Jamie Gentry is from the Kwakwaka’ wakw nation, born and raised in Victoria BC. She comes from a long line of talented artist, who over time helped her discover her passion for fabrics and sewing. Making moccasins is her lifetime passion, she also enjoys making fun, fashionable, yet comfortable items for children with an emphasis on Upcycling/Recycling, which is using discarded items to make new creations.
"I make moccasins, art cards, quilts and patches As well as children’s Upcycled clothing. The intention I have behind everything I make, is to make it with soul, and meaning. While I work, I think of the person who I am making it for, or the person who will one day discover my work. I believe it creates a connection that has been lost over the years." -Jamie Gentry
JAMIE GENTRY BROWN/ RED COWHIDE MOCCASINS WITH FRINGE (L6 /M5)
JAMIE GENTRY TAN COWHIDE MOCCASINS WITH FRINGE (L8 /M6)
Guest Speaker
Waneek Horn-Miller
Agenda for Friday
- 11:00AM-11:30 AM: Opening ceremony, speeches from artisans and Waneek Horn-Miller.
- 11:30AM: Exhibition space opens.
- 12:00PM-1:00PM: Hors d'oeuvre trays come out.
- 1:00PM-1:30PM: A word from Biskakone.
- 2:00PM- 2:30PM: A word from Jamie Gentry.
- 3:30PM: Exhibition space closes.
Agenda for Saturday
- 11:00AM-3:30AM: Silent Auction opens.
- 11:00AM-12:30PM: Mukluk workshop with Rosa Scribe, Biskakone and Jamie Gentry.
- 12:30PM-1:30PM: Hor d'oeuvre trays come out.
- 2:00PM-2:30PM: Waneek Horn-Miller Q&A Panel.
- 3:00PM: Exhibition space closes.
- 3:00PM-3:30PM: Closing Ceremony.
Map of Event
Statement of the Financials
REQUIRED FUNDS: $10,000
- Renting out the designated space is going to come out to $8,250, catering and accommodation cost included.
- Guest and guest artisans flight tickets, hotel and accommodations will come to a total $3,000.
- Shipping of art pieces and silent auction pieces to the location of the exhibition will come to a total $670.
- Staff will consist of volunteers and will be accommodated with complementary breakfast and lunch meals, this will cost about $360 with potentially 12 staffs working on-site for both days.
- Ticket sales are expected to reach $5,000 at $25 a piece and a possible attendance of 200 adults, and half those those sales will cover the remaining costs.