Image: Brooklyn Museum, New York
The Brooklyn Museum has released a new installment of its 'Brooklyn Talks' interview series featuring sneaker designer Salehe Bembury in conversation with graffiti artist Futura and curator and critic Antwaun Sargent. According to the museum’s newsletter text, the discussion looks at Bembury’s creative process, mentorship, and future vision, offering a direct account of how one of the most visible figures in contemporary footwear describes his career.
The museum framed the conversation as part of 'Brooklyn Talks', an event series that invites artists, thinkers, activists, and designers to share its stage. In the same newsletter, the series was presented as a way for audiences to hear directly from creators, positioning the interviews as a public-facing platform for longform reflection rather than a promotional quick take. The Bembury episode was paired in the email with another fashion-focused interview, but the museum text kept the two conversations distinct.
Bembury is described in the museum’s materials as a multihyphenate artist and one of the world’s most popular sneaker designers. The newsletter also notes his work with Yeezy, Moncler, Puma, New Balance, Crocs, and Versace. Rather than presenting a broad biography, the museum’s account focuses on the professional relationships and influences that shaped his practice, as well as the ideas guiding his next steps in footwear.
The interview is notable for the mix of perspectives brought together around Bembury. Futura, identified by the museum as a pioneering graffiti artist, joins Antwaun Sargent, a curator and critic, in conversation with the designer. That combination places footwear design in dialogue with graffiti culture and critical writing, reflecting the museum’s interest in fashion and adjacent creative fields as part of a wider contemporary art conversation.
The newsletter’s language suggests a focus on process over product. It says Bembury reflects on his mentors and influences, while also speaking about the moments that shaped his wide-ranging career in fashion and his vision for the future of footwear. Those are the central themes the museum highlights, and they appear to anchor the episode’s appeal for viewers interested in how design careers are built and sustained.
The Brooklyn Museum promoted the interview through its email newsletter alongside its broader fashion programming, including reference to 'Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses' and a separate 'Brooklyn Talks' conversation with Iris van Herpen and Vanessa Friedman. In the Bembury entry, however, the museum’s emphasis stays on the interview itself, presented under the heading 'Best foot forward' and identified as a rare interview with the designer.
The museum directed readers to watch the conversation online. The YouTube listing attached to the newsletter gives the title as 'Brooklyn Talks: Salehe Bembury with Antwaun Sargent and Futura'. No additional runtime or event date was provided in the source material, but the museum’s published description makes clear that the interview is available now through its digital channels.
