TOLEDO, OH.- Sneakers have evolved from sportswear to fashion statement and cultural signifier. The Rise of Sneaker Culture, an exhibition on view at the Toledo Museum of Art, traces that evolution from the 1830s to today.

Approximately one-hundred and sixty sneakers – from an 1860s spiked running shoe to contemporary sneaker collaborations with such artists and designers as Damien Hirst, Jeff Staple and Kanye West – went on display Dec. 3 in the Levis Galleries (Galleries 28 A-C). It is the first time the exhibition has been seen in Ohio after popular runs at the Bata Shoe Museum and Brooklyn Museum.

“The Rise of Sneaker Culture is an exhibition that everyone connects with, because we all wear sneakers – even if we call them tennis shoes,” said Brian Kennedy, director of the Toledo Museum of Art. “We’re delighted to present an exhibition that’s as fun as it is informative and culturally relevant.”

Among the sneakers demonstrating the pivotal role that athletic footwear plays in popular culture is a complete set of Air Jordans I-XX3. Other highlights include a pair of 1936 track shoes of the same type once worn by Olympic medalist Jesse Owens, the original Air Force 1 and an early Adidas Superstar, as well as sneakers and related prototype drawings spanning the careers of Nike sneaker design legends Tinker Hatfield, Eric Avar and Tobie Hatfield.

“This exhibition demonstrates how art and an everyday staple, such as a shoe, have a commonality,” said Halona Norton-Westbrook, exhibition coordinator, Mellon Fellow and associate curator of contemporary art at the Toledo Museum of Art. “In this instance, artists and fashion designers have used sneakers as a part of their palette for expression.”

Organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Bata Shoe Museum, the traveling exhibition is curated by Elizabeth Semmelhack, senior curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. The Rise of Sneaker Culture traces the path that has led the sneaker where it is today and is further developed through film footage, photographic images and design drawings.

“Sneakers appear to be the most democratic form of footwear – but in reality sneakers are part of a fascinating matrix of nuanced social meaning,” said Semmelhack. “Since the 19th century sneakers have been intimately linked to expressions of status as well as gender. I am particularly interested in how sneaker culture today is intertwined with shifts in idealized masculinity.”

Numerous sources contributed sneakers and artifacts to make this show possible. They include the Bata Shoe Museum, the Kosow Sneaker Museum, Northampton Museums and Art Gallery; the archives of manufacturers such as Adidas, Converse, Nike, Puma and Reebok; and private collectors such as legendary hip-hop group Run–DMC, sneaker guru Bobbito Garcia and Dee Wells of Obsessive Sneaker Disorder.

The exhibition closes at the Toledo Museum of Art on Feb. 28, 2016. The exhibition will then travel to the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, from June 12 through Aug. 14, 2016, and the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, from Sept. 9 through Nov. 27, 2016. The exhibition premiered at the Bata Shoe Museum and was more recently seen at the Brooklyn Museum, drawing large crowds of sneaker admirers.