The Shoe Project

The Shoe Project

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The Shoe Project

Presented by SkirtsAfire in partnership with YWCA Edmonton, with support by Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre who was the first to bring this project to Edmonton.

Shoes accompany us on our journeys. They are with us wherever we go, they say who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. These performances will open your heart and transform your perceptions of what it means to be Canadian.

Saturday, March 8 @ 7:30pm – 9:00pm (Followed by a Catered Reception)
Sunday, March 9 @ 1:30pm – 3:00pm (ASL Interpreted)
Sunday, March 9 @ 7:30pm – 9:00pm

Walterdale Theatre
10322 83 Ave NW

    Tickets on sale now!
Adults $27.75, Students/Seniors $22.25 (plus applicable fees). 14 Tiered Pay-What-You-Can tickets are available per performance ($5, $10, $15, $20). Group discounts available for 6+.

Due to limited capacity, we highly recommend securing your seat in advance!


Festival passes
 available now. Get 3 shows, 5 shows or an All Access Pass!

Special Events & Discounts
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The Shoe Project is a national initiative that amplifies the voices of Canadian immigrant and refugee women through storytelling. Whether selected by choice or imposed by circumstance the shoes we wear can make or break a journey, shape our experiences, and open doors to our future. The Shoe Project 2025 is Edmonton’s fourth live iteration of this compelling project. In November, a group of immigrant and refugee women began working with veteran Canadian playwright Conni Massing to write stories of their arrival and adaptation to Canada centered around a pair of shoes they have worn. Once their stories were complete, each woman worked with Voice & Speech Coach Alyson Connolly, and they now tell their story for audiences in a revelatory public performance.

“I have never imagined I could be standing in front of an audience sharing a personal story in English. The Shoe Project has been the most empowering experience of my life.” — Natalia Rodriguez Bussi, Uruguay

“I’ve been blown away. Those women are amazing, their stories [are] bold and brave and filled with humour, love, and all the travails of making their journeys here. I loved the various shoes, the boots, the “slippers”. What an outstanding project!” — Catherine Mitchell, publisher

THESE PERFORMANCES WILL OPEN YOUR HEART AND TRANSFORM YOUR PERCEPTIONS OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CANADIAN

Featuring:

Elian Elias Aboudi, Palestine/Jordan
Eshraq, Yemen
Farida Faqiri, Afghanistan
Marzia Hakimi, Afghanistan
Fatima Ibrahimi, Afghanistan
Hannah Kamau, Kenya
Nozomi Kamei, Japan
Adomenyo Aseye Kouevidjin, Togo
Narges Noori, Afghanistan
Mitra, Iran

ASL Interpreted Performance by Thurga Kanagasekarampillai and Jenni Stevens

Featuring:

Elian Elias Aboudi
Palestine/Jordan
Eshraq
Yemen
Farida Faqiri
Afghanistan
Marzia Hakimi
Afghanistan
Fatima Ibrahimi
Afghanistan
Hannah Kamau
Kenya
Nozomi Kamei
Japan
Adomenyo Aseye Kouevidjin
Togo
Narges Noori
Afghanistan
Mitra
Iran

Artistic Team:

Nancy Kirugi
Project Coordinator

Artist Adopted by
John L. Pressey

Conni Massing
Writing Mentor
Alyson Connolly
Voice & Speech Coach

The Shoe Project’s mission is to advance education by providing programs, courses, workshops and seminars to immigrant and refugee women to develop their written and oral skills, as well as their leadership skills.

Thank you to The Shoe Project Charity for their guidance and contributions towards the Edmonton chapter of this initiative and to YWCA Edmonton for continuing the journey.

To find out more about the original shoe project, visit https://theshoeproject.online/


Venue Sponsor
The Shoe Project is Sponsored and Supported by:

Butler Family Foundation

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Dates

Saturday, March 8th @ 7:30 - 9:00 PM
Sunday, March 9th @ 1:30 - 3:00 PM (ASL Interpreted)
Sunday, March 9th @ 7:30 - 9:00 PM

Venue

Walterdale Theatre
10322 83 Ave NW

Copyright 2025 SkirtsAfire.

SkirtsAfire respectfully acknowledges that we are telling stories on the traditional and ancestral homeland of diverse Indigenous peoples including Nehiyawak (Cree), Metis, Inuit, Dene, Blackfoot, Saulteaux and Nakota Sioux, who have lived and travelled through this place thousands of years before us. We are all treaty people and as settlers to Treaty 6 Territory, which is also home to Métis Settlements and the Métis Nation of Alberta, we are striving to better listen, understand and learn from the Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing. We respect and celebrate the languages, history and culture of the First Nations, Metis and Inuit whose presence continues to enrich this vibrant community here in ᐊᒥᐢᑲᐧᒋᐋᐧᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ, Amiskwacîwâskahikan, also known as Edmonton, and at SkirtsAfire.

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