The 2017 "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" event at the Tudor Artisan Hub was a community art installation and storytelling project held for Culture Night. Coordinated as a joint project with Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT), Clonmel, the event aimed to promote empathy and understanding by having participants interact with personal stories through art.
Event Details
Concept: Participants were asked to donate and artistically decorate a pair of shoed that symbolised themselves or someone they knew. The exterior of the shoe represented what is shown to the world, while the interior symbolised what is kept hidden.
Installation: The decorated shoes were displayed as a half-mile art installation/walk, leading from the River Suir towards the historic Ormond Castle in Carrick-on-Suir.
Experience: The event encouraged community members, local artists, and schools to participate, culminating in the sharing of stories, refreshments, and music at the end of the walk. LIT students were involved in documenting the event and capturing the individual stories associated with the shoes.
Purpose: The project utilised the physical object of a shoe and the act of "walking a mile" to create an immersive, interactive experience that provided insight into different perspectives and life experiences, reinforcing the value of storytelling and community engagement.
