Welcome to the Honest Threads blog!

Presented by the Koffler Gallery and curated by Mona Filip, Honest Threads is an interactive installation by Toronto artist Iris Häussler. Set up as a small clothing collection inside Toronto’s famous landmark, the Honest Ed’s store, Honest Threads displays garments and the memories they carry. Lent by ordinary Torontonians as well as local celebrities, each item holds a personal story revealing a glimpse of the many threads that weave our identity over time.

Visitors are able to borrow the garments for a few days and wear them, experiencing both literally and psychologically what it is like to “walk in someone else’s shoes.” At the same time, they add new layers to the clothes’ history. Trading experiences on both tactile and narrative levels will enrich our collective perception of the place we call home. As pieces of a vast puzzle, these individual stories render a fragmentary portrait of the city, attesting to its complex history.

The exhibition runs from January 22 to March 8, 2009. Exhibition hours are: Sunday to Thursday 11 AM - 6 PM; Wednesday open late until 8:30 PM; Friday 11 AM - 3 PM. Closed Saturdays, statutory and Jewish holidays. Admission is free.

We also want to hear your stories!... Please feel free to add your impressions about wearing a garment borrowed from Honest Threads - what happened, how did you feel? Post a comment to this blog site - or e-mail an image and your clothing story to: kofflergallery@kofflerarts.org and we will put it up on the blog!