We tagged along with Annie on her trip to the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) to catch the sneakerhead exhibit before it left town. It was her first time to the museum and she pretty much went there with no expectations.
Her interest was piqued back in December when the San Francisco Chronicle ran a cover story about sneakerhead in the museum spotlight.
Sunday Chronicle feature
She tore out the page and kept it as a reminder to get over there. On Sunday, the sun, moon and stars aligned so off we went.
The “Out of the Box” exhibit occupied a separate room. We noticed that most of the attendees there had fantastic kicks on.
It was a walk down memory lane for her. She saw the running shoes from her past — Adidas Marathon 80s. We were astonished (especially Joey) to see how thin the soles were.
She ran 26 miles in those?
The original Nike Waffle Trainers were there too!
Annie’s Take
However, we noticed that something bothered her.
“It’s too static,” she said.
Behind glass. Nicely displayed but no context.
“When I think sneakers, I think of the moments they’ve been worn… the activities they’ve been a part of, you know?”
She has a point. A dimension was missing by having worn sneaks behind thick glass where you could take photos for personal use only.
There was a little short film running on a wall nearby, but maybe like in the Apple Store, there needed to be iPad smart signs displaying a slideshow or video of those sneakers in action.
And There’s More… Come for the Sneakers, stay for all things California
Before returning to her car, she and her husband decided to give the rest of the museum a run through.
Let’s just say, THIS is where the “rubber met the road.”
So much to see! It was fantastic! See snaps below.
She also had fun playing with a jukebox they had on display.
Clearly there was a lot to see and absorb. We are planning on spending many nights in the museum.
And the Jukebox Sez…
This piece captures the feeling of visiting the OMCA: Happy…bouncy… and lots of fun!
Thanks for reading! #SCMF!
—The Gang
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