St. John’s University’s Collins College of Professional Studies (CCPS) held the opening of the “We Are Shoe York City” art exhibit in the Yeh Art Gallery on Feb. 6.
From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., the exhibit showcases the history of sneaker and hip-hop culture in New York City.
Multiple University-affiliated and independent organizations collaborated to organize the event. The St. John’s Division of Sports Management, SOLEcial Studies CommUNITY Academy, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the Institute of Interdisciplinary Sport Research and NRS CustomX helped curate the exhibit and host its opening night.
As attendees entered the event, they were greeted by hip-hop music from St. John’s alumnus Terrell Amparado and DJ T, and were prompted to take a raffle ticket. Prizes included a copy of “Fresh Fly Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip Hop Style” signed by co-author and Fashion Institute of Technology Professor Elena Romero.
Attendees gathered to hear from a panel of self-proclaimed sneakerheads and supporters of the exhibit.
CCPS Dean Luca Iandoli spoke highly of the collaboration on display before the panel began.
“You can see how all of these minds work together tonight to build this, which is an outstanding, amazing example of creativity and design,” Iandoli said. “There are so many different ways to look at something. In this case, it is just an object like shoes.”
Event manager Simon Pack introduced the panel members and moderator, St. John’s alumnus Max Coughlan.
The speakers featured Sean Williams from SOLEcial Studies CommUNITY Academy, Danny Lee from NRS CustomX, Andrew Nasti, a shoe customizer for professional athletes and Romero. Williams spoke about how the exhibit highlighted the importance of sneaker culture in New York.
“I think people should take a little bit of appreciation of the exhibition out there snd see the individual sort of style and personality and some of the things we pointed out representing the five boroughs as We Are Shoe York,” Williams said.
He also spoke about how Lee and Nasti’s work as shoe customizers has a positive effect on the culture.
“These two gentlemen here represent that individuality that still exists.”
When the panel ended raffle winners were announced, and the audience was invited to watch Lee sew a customized shoe in honor of former St. John’s coach Lou Carnesseca.
Attendees also had the opportunity to mingle as they walked through the subway-themed shoe exhibit that featured a shoe representing each borough or visit the Inclusivity Resource Center (IRC) to view a collection of custom sneakers.
“I thought it was nice how people were chatting about it, bonding over it and bringing people together,” senior Brayden Maxwell said.
While browsing the assortment of sneakers in the IRC, senior Ari Phillips was drawn to the signature shoe of the New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu. “She’s my favorite WNBA Player. I think that was the first one where I was like, ‘this is cool,’” Phillips said.
Senior Dilon Bheer was surprised by the amount of customization on display. “I knew there was variety, but this was just a whole other level,” Bheer said.
The exhibit will be displayed in Sun Yat Sen for the remainder of the spring semester.
