What is craftivism? This is a question I was faced with a few months ago when I met Sarah Corbett, founder of the Craftivist Collective.
The simple answer is Craft + Activism = Craftivism. I discovered the craftivist approach is one I’m actually very familiar with… it’s the same as my approach to social media marketing. The focus is on engagement and not pure numbers, or as your grandmother might have said, look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.
I asked Sarah if she would be happy to answer a few questions about Craftivism and this interesting organisation. She responded with these intelligent and passionate answers. As fellow crafters (that’s you reading!), I’m hoping, that like me you will also be charmed and perhaps a little inspired by this fascinating approach to raising awareness of very serious local and global issues.
I’ve read the wiki entry on Craftivism, but can you give us the Sarah Corbett definition of Craftivism
For me it’s a few things. First of all the activism is always the priority and the craft is the tool to do it. It’s about provoking thought and discussion on issues in a deep, meaningful and long term way and a way for people to think personally about what they can do to be part of the change they wish to see in the world as well as how they can nurture and encourage others to make positive change.For the maker its a method of activism that I call ‘slow activism‘. Traditional forms of activism tend to be quickly signing petitions, going on marches or being part of stunts. I burnt out as an activist because I was doing so much so fast and I felt like I was just a robot. Craftivism really helped me stop and think about what the issues mean to me and made me reflect deeply about who the injustice affected and how we can all be part of solving them.
Sarah attaching a Craftivist Collective mini banner to a railing
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