The Shoe Project holds writing workshops where Canadian writers exchange skills with newcomer women, enabling them to share their stories of arrival in and adaptation to Canada -- through a pair of shoes.
Our Program
Many newcomer women are professionals and leaders in their original countries but need to work on their writing and speaking skills in English to attain similar roles in Canada.
Our Shoes, Our Stories
Every woman has a special pair of shoes in her life. For those who embark on the long journey to a new life in a new country, her choice of shoes is not only vital -- it is also a powerful metaphor for that journey.
COVID & Us: Newcomer Women in Pandemic
Like other Canadians, newcomer women are experiencing unemployment and working from home while caring for their children. But for newcomers with smaller networks, the strain is Immense.
Isolated at home, community classes cancelled. Wait times for husbands and family members to enter Canada have been extended, past promised deadlines. They worry about their families in India, Azerbaijan, Zimbabwe, or Turkey, where aid is limited. These women came here with hopes pinned on the future. Now the future is Unknown.
Read their stories. Listen to their voices.
Get a front row seat at a performance and listen to our stories.
Vathsala Aswathaman, Heels in My Life
News and Media
Stay up to date with the latest news from The Shoe Project
Saima S. Hussain, “Interrupting a Conversation about Islamophobia”
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In Memory of Aaron Berhane
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The Shoe Project Shorts: Immigration Stories Told on Film
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Teenaz Javat, Mississauga ON
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Joy Kogawa, “It Feels a Bit Like Déjà vu, Anti-Asian sentiment"
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Grandma Therapy
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Immigrant Arts Mentorship Program
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Mountain FM, "Canmore musician Nurdjana recording her late father’s songs."
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Edmonton Journal, "Women new to Canada put best foot forward in The Shoe Project at Workshop West."
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Sanaa Al-khannaq Calgary AB
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Venera Loshaj-Balaj, Surrey BC
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Himanshi Upadhyay, Vancouver BC
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Zeynep Ergun, Calgary AB
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Nelli Antepli, Calgary AB
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Manisha Shrestha, Canmore AB
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2020 Giller Prize Winner Souvankham Thammavongsa
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Ava Homa, "Minority Writers Have to Work Thrice as Hard"
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Ngozi Onyinye, Edmonton AB
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Read about us in Halifax Examiner!
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Gurpreet Nain, Toronto ON
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Women's Courage Can Change the World
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Bow Valley Shoe Project searching for immigrant women to share life stories
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Caroline Adderson, "I consider the novel a work of imagination based on fact."
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Levia Ququezana, Calgary AB
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Our American Friends!
Read about The Shoe Project in Foreign Bodies newsletter
A Happy Birthday
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No Safe Haven from Racism
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Little Shoes
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The Only Friends I Had
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My Shoes Left Behind
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My Brown Bata Slippers
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Seran Celik, Calgary AB
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Noriko Ohsada, Canmore AB
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My Mother and Grandmother Walk with Me
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In Salmon’s Shoes
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Natalia Mokhovikova, Richmond BC
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Beneath the Surface
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Heels in My Life
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Teenaz Javat, Mississauga ON
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Tenzin Palzom, Banff AB
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The book by Tanaz Bhathena has been awarded the 2019 Nautilus Gold Award.
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Mariana Barron, Banff, AB
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Dana Roman, Canmore, AB
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Umut Duygu Uzunel, Toronto, ON
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Cordelia Tang, Toronto, ON
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Sinthia Zaman, Calgary AB
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Shaima Jaff, Vancouver BC
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New Chapter in Edmonton
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The Shoe Project Shorts
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Rhoda Akuol Philip, Toronto ON
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Canmore author and Shoe Project founder to become member of Order of Canada
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Shoe Project searching for new participants
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In her shoes, after she got on her feet: In The Shoe Project workshops, women write about their immigration to Canada
Marsha Lederman, The Globe and Mail
Stepping into Their Shoes: An encounter with Immigrant Women
By Cindy Lapena
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Human Flow and the Shoe Project pulled me deep into immigrants’ and refugees’ stories: Timson
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The Shoe Project on Mountain FM 106.5 in Canmore-Banff
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The Shoe Project lands on its feet
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Immigrant women bare their souls through their soles
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Shoe Project seeks immigrant women with a story to tell
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The Shoe Project lets listeners walk a mile in an immigrant’s shoes
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