City of Craft 2010 in conjunction with Toronto Craft Alert and WORN Fashion Journal presents

FOR KEEPS: a Mending Show

Everyone’s got something they can’t throw away. Sometimes the “why” is obvious – it’s an heirloom or a collectible – but sometimes it’s not clear at all. Maybe you keep stitching up the thumb on your grubby mittens or gluing the handle back on your dollar store mug. For one reason or another you’ve become attached…

FOR KEEPS is an exhibition of ordinary objects made extraordinary by the efforts their owners have made to recognize, save, store, and repair – and our own desire to assign value and meaning in a disposable society. Some of the objects contributed include a 1920s dress, ripped open for an emergency delivery (and subsequently restitched), and a decaying teddy bear passed down and loved through generations. Oh, and socks.

But it’s not just about pondering the void and our own finite destiny… The opening reception features a mending circle from 7-9pm. Now’s your chance to deal with that thing you broke and can’t figure out how to fix (with the help of a facilitator and mending supplies), plus live music by L-CON. Later on there’ll be a dj, too (so if the thing you fixed was a can, you can shake it).

FOR KEEPS features work by and contribution from Serene Daoud, Becky Johnson, Leah Buckareff, Angela Turner, Jacqueline Lawson, Mary Kroetsch, Alison L. Pearce and Grant Heaps. Curated by Jen Anisef and Marsya Maharani, featuring photography by Danijela Pruginic.

Socks (2010). Cotton, embroidery thread, lurex. Mended by Grant Heaps. Photographed by Danijela Pruginic.