This Is Not a Shoe:
Footwear Deconstruction Workshop at Artrise, Sunbury

Saturday 28 November 2026
11am – 2pm
Artrise, Building 5, 95–125 Circular Drive, Sunbury VIC 3429
$30 - 18+ only (sharp tools in use)

We’re delighted to have been invited by Hume City Council to bring our shoe deconstruction workshop to Artrise, Hume’s new creative hub at Jacksons Hill in Sunbury. We’re really excited to work with the Hume community, uncovering the shoe stories people carry with them and exploring the creative possibilities of material reuse together.

Do you have a pair of shoes you can no longer wear, but can’t bear to throw away? Shoes that have had their last outing but still hold too much meaning to send to landfill? Bring them along. Over three hours, you’ll carefully take your shoes apart piece by piece, then arrange the components into a flat-lay artwork to take home and display.

Along the way, you’ll learn how shoes are made, what they’re made from, the labour behind them, and the sustainability challenges tied to how we make, buy and discard footwear. Everyone approaches the challenge of deconstruction differently, and we can’t wait to see how Hume residents take it on. Every pair also tells a story about the person who wore it: their identity, their lifestyle, the places they’ve walked. Sharing those stories is a big part of the day.

The workshop is a calm, mindful activity, and you can do it however suits you. Some people work quietly and lose themselves in the process. Others chat and swap stories around the table. Both are welcome.

A beautiful setting with a complex history
Artrise is a restored heritage building dating back to the early 1900s, with a complex history closely tied to the lives of women. Today it’s a creative hub with artist studios, a theatre, and a courtyard garden set in landscaped grounds. We feel it’s a fitting place to gather, make, and share stories. If you’re coming from further afield, make a day of it: arrive early, explore the precinct, and enjoy a slower Saturday in Sunbury.

We provide: all tools and materials, plus a safety demonstration
Please bring: one significant pair of shoes you no longer wear
Facilitators: Pennie Jagiello (Footwear Research Network) with co-facilitator Bianca Easton (Weaving Connections Naarm)

This workshop takes place on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.