Craftivism

thumb|A woman wearing a craftivist facemask.

Craftivism is a contemporary form of activism that uses craft as its primary mode for political and social engagement. Craftivism is not tied to any single ideology, incorporating themes of anti-capitalism, environmentalism, solidarity, third-wave feminism, and other related movements. Much of the practice draws on techniques historically classified as the domestic arts, inclusive of sewing, quilting, embroidery, and other forms of handwork traditionally associated with home and women's labor. Craftivism is defined by the repurposing of these practices as tools for social expression, political commentary and collective action.

Craftivism includes, but is not limited to, various forms of needlework including yarn-bombing or cross-stitch. Craftivism is a social process of collective empowerment, action, expression and negotiation. In craftivism, engaging in the social and critical discourse around the work is central to its production and dissemination. Practitioners are known as craftivists. The word 'craftivism' is a portmanteau of the words craft and activism.

Background

Domestic arts (crafts) have been a feminized form of art throughout history. Because of its perceived femininity, it was often rendered invisible in larger conversations about art. Instead, contemporary scholarship emphasizes that the marginalization of textile labor has made crafts a powerful tool for feminist resistance, with craftivism using gendered materials to challenge the invisibility of women's work, suffering, and overlooked social issues.

The term craftivism was coined in 2003 by writer Betsy Greer in order to join the separate spheres of craft and activism. Her favorite self-created definition of the term states, "craftivism is a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper & your quest for justice more infinite". Greer's formulation has since expanded into diverse social practices, with craftivism now understood as an explicitly political form of making that incorporates and emphasizes the marginalized voices of communities and individuals. including a foreword by Greer. Lothian's main body of work consists of making "tiny handcrafted artworks out on the street for people to find and take home, injecting tiny, unexpected and magical moments in passers-by's lives." The book, Guerrilla Kindness and Other Acts of Creative Resistance, was published in 2018.

More recent scholarship traces the political significance of contemporary craftivism to specific activist contexts. Some examples include data-driven visualization, which uses forms of knitting and embroidery to emphasize underrepresented social issues, and Eastern European craftivist practices that use traditionally-recognized forms such as the cross-stitch and garment alternation as documentation of protest movements and critique on authoritarianism.

Practices of craft or "domestic arts" have traditionally existed and been organized spatially within the private sphere. Therefore, the labor and production of craft was generally interpreted as unproductive female labor in the home, as it was never integrated into profit-making systems. Rather, it was marginalized and undervalued. As a result, women's significant and creative work in the private sphere—clothing the family, knitting blankets, weaving the loom—did not receive the same respect as male-dominated activity in the public realm. Furthermore, the patriarchy has been successful in claiming these domestic values for women and using it as a way to keep women in subservient roles. The rise of consumer-friendly crafts, including kits, transfers and readymade designs, has further diminished the status of craft and women's amateur practices. Women and craft have been excluded from the fine art world and as a result many women put their creativity towards craft practices. Craft was "a universal female art from transcending race, class, and national borders. Needlework is the one art in which women controlled the education of their daughters and the production of art, and were also the critics and audience." Although practices of craft were spatially organized within the private sphere, women occasionally would organize groups to engage in these practices collectively. In these craft circles or meet ups women would not only share patterns and skills but also engage in conversation about their lives in the private sphere. These groups of women would discuss their lives and personal struggles encountered as women. This type of group discussion is a form of activism rooted in Consciousness raising that was key to Second-wave feminism One example would be the Anarchist Knitting Mob who held a "Massive Knit" event in Washington Square Park to honor the death of activist and urbanist Jane Jacobs. Knitters decorated the trees, benches, and light posts with colorful yarn and unique patterns. Craftivism can also focus on doing activism in a slow, quiet, compassionate way.

Sarah Corbett, founder of Craftivist Collective, encourages craftivists to set up private and public what she coined 'stitch-in' workshops.

Environmentalism

Craftivism is also centered on ideas of environmentalism and sustainability. When buying new materials, many craftivists choose organic fabrics and fairly traded products such as home-spun yarns. Yet, even more popular within the movement is the utilization of vintage, thrifted and repurposed goods in order to minimize waste and promote reuse. This display of resourcefulness acknowledges the finite resources on Earth, and the valorization of quality over quantity. Craftivist, Betsy Greer, is quoted saying, "While I think that crafting has become something fairly elite and cliquish in some areas, at its heart, it is very much made for individuals who value both their time and their money". Often their activism centers around knit -ins on mining or potential mining sites, in front of politicians and offending companies offices as well as in support of rallies and other community events. At their core is the idea of bringing people together in a non-violent, "mild mannered yet stubborn front" through their craft activities, no matter on the participant's skill levels.

The Tempestry Project is an example of an artwork that uses craft and craftivist techniques to highlight the impacts of climate change on the planet. The collaborative and ongoing project presents climate change data in visual form through knitted and crochet forms. Initiated in 2016, Tempestries are made so that each row is knitted in a specific color to represent the temperature of that location on that specific day. Anyone is able to participate in the project and create their own Tempestry. The Tempestry Project's goal is "to scale this down into something that is accurate, tangible, relatable, and beautiful".

Another form of environmental craftivism could be the act of making pouches or blankets for wildlife affected by environmental disaster, as was the case for many crafters globally who helped hurt wildlife affected by the devastation 2019-2020 Australian Bushfire season.

Anti-(_) movements

Anti-capitalism

Historically, craft was the pre-capitalist form of production, where each created item possessed a "use-value," a term comparing the usefulness of an item to the exchange equivalent. Now within a capitalist system of mass production, craft has become a commodity to be bought and sold for money, where it is now referred to as having an "exchange-value". Due to this movement from use-value to exchange-value, there is less emphasis on the time and skill expended to create an object, and more importance on making it available to the masses as inexpensively as possible. Traditionally associated with a strong community so vital to the creation and distribution of craft, crafting has since lost its use-value and has been "captured by capital".

A popular way to resist the commoditization of craft is through the Do-It-Yourself or DIY movement. Popularized through "zines" of the 1990s, DIY inspires people to be self-sufficient and to rely less on the market for basic necessities that can easily be created on one's own. DIY is a resistance to both the capitalist nature of the fashion industry and pressures to conform and buy a style. Crafters have also subverted the market through the use of open source patterns and information sharing on the internet. Sites like Burdastyle allow crafters to upload and download sewing projects at no charge. Similarly, Cat Mazza's online software KnitPro allows users to download images into detailed knitting patterns at no charge.

Anti-sweatshop

Efforts within the craftivist movement against capitalism focus primarily on the international issue of sweatshops. Some craftivists believe that either sewing one's own clothing or buying only hand-made is the best way to protest unfair labor practices around the globe. Other craftivists take the issue even further, using the act of crafting as a protest against sweatshops. Artist and activist Cat Mazza created a campaign against the inhumane labor practices of Nike through the creation of a giant blanket depicting Nike's trademark swoosh. From 2003 to 2008, international crafters were asked to mail in 4x4 inch stitched squares to border the blanket and to sign a petition against Nike. Mazza also created a second web-based software called Knitoscope that transforms video into animated knitted stitches. In the MicroRevolt website, Cat Mazza introduced a web application that translates digital images into needlecrafts, such as crochet, knitting, and embroidery. Through implementing the KnitPro program, the organization knitted logos in the Tactical media lab in Troy, New York.

Each video has a corresponding testimony featuring various professionals who work against sweatshop labor. She has been making these blankets since Denmark entered the Iraq War, and doesn't plan to stop until it is over. She writes on her website that, "Unsimilar to a war, knitting signals home, care, closeness and time for reflection...When [the tank] is covered in pink, it becomes completely unarmed and it loses its authority".

The Viral Knitting Project is an anti-war effort that translates the 0/1 binary code of the dangerous Code Red computer virus into a knitting pattern of knit/purl. The color and code relate to the anti-terrorism alerts of post 9/11 United States. The project is attempting to "draw together links between technology, culture, capitalism and war".

In response to the killing of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, Taylor Payne and CheyOnna Sewell founded Yarn Mission, a "knitting collective that is purposefully Pro-Black, Pro-Rebellion, and Pro-Community for the achievement of Black Liberation."

Following the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and subsequent global Black Lives Matter protests, independent artists donated proceeds towards anti-racism projects, mutual aid funds, and national bailout funds to help protesters detained by law enforcement. Artists used sites like Etsy to promote BLM donations. Some crafters donated either a percentage of proceeds or in full, and others made crafts to spread the message of the movement, making t-shirts, face masks, and stickers. There have been criticisms, however, concerning non-Black sellers profiting off the movement. "Both independent creatives and companies should be donating profits to demonstrate solidarity," said Fresco Steez, an activist with Movement for Black Lives and co-founder of Black Youth Project 100. "And it can't just be a percentage. Otherwise, businesses [and creative independents] are essentially benefitting from the social struggles at the heart of the protests," she said.

There is a manifesto and a checklist of goals for the work of the group which includes being welcoming, encouraging and positive, creative and non-threatening, and focusing on global poverty and human rights injustices.

One of the Craftivist Collective's key achievements was to convince the M&S board to pay their 50,000 employees the living wage in 2015.

This campaign was awarded with the Economic Justice Campaigner of the year 2017 by Sheila McKechnie Foundation, and was nominated for the 2017 Care2 UK Impact Award.

On the back of this award, Sarah Corbett continues to work with large charities to deliver strategic craftivism projects and teach them in the art of gentle protest.

Criticism

Craftivism has been shaped by longstanding discourse regarding the status of women's creative expression in the art world, especially the use of art as a means of political and social commentary. Women's textile work has historically been positioned as "applied" or "decorative", a hierarchy that positioned fiber-based and home-women's craft forms as a less influential forms relative to painting and sculpting.

Conservative members accused the group of assuming a liberal agenda, and argued that politics should not be involved. Some members of the group felt that the mere act of crafting itself was political, while others felt that the act must also be attached to a political message. Rayna Fahey from Radical Cross Stitch replied to a thread stating "Personally if a John McCain supporter joined this group and told me that my latest piece in support of indigenous sovereignty was a well-made piece that serves the purpose for which it was designed well, I'd think that was awesome and I'd have hope for the future of this world." In contrast, craftivist Betsy Greer believes that "the personal is political," and that you cannot separate the two. Sarah Corbett from Craftivist Collective adds that craftivism is "to think critically and discuss compassionately how we can all be part of positive social change."

Contemporary American politics

Since the 2016 election, the massive increase in public activism has given rise to more methods of art activism and craftivism as well. The Pink Pussyhat Project was popularized with the Women's March from 2017 and 2018. There was also a movement called the Welcome Blanket project, which aims to show solidarity to immigrants and refugees with blankets. Additionally, there has been The Kudzu Project, a guerilla knitting art installation started in Charlottesville, VA where flash installations of knitted kudzu vines were draped on Confederate monuments to "call attention to the role of these statues in perpetuating false narratives about the Civil War and white supremacy."

Contemporary craftivism through a virtual world

From even before the pandemic, the emergence of online crafting communities has facilitated new forms of participation and community. Even though it's been moved online, the social aspects of craft "were considered highly salient" because of the "profoundly collective phenomenon" of practices like knitting.