Craftivism is a form of activism that is centred around craft practices including needle work and was coined in 2003 by Betsy Greer. It is seen as non-threating therefore effective as it looks to influence positive change through non-threating creative methods.
Craftivism it is strongly associated with the feminist movement as craft practises are traditionally associated with femininity and domesticity and therefore the use of craft in activism challenges and subverts patriarchal power structures as it is often seen as docile and domestic.
In recent years craftivism has been used in response to president Trumps comments about the female body. Intending to make a visual statement The Pussy hat project was started by craftivist Suh and her co-founder Jayna Zweiman and resulted in thousands of people taking to the streets wearing the pink hats. The pink hats became a symbol for the Women’s march.
Photograph By REBECCA BLISSETT PHOTO 2017
When creating my embroidered key ring I took inspiration from like a girl campaign which looks at the phrase like a girl and how it is used as an insult to knock young adults confidence.
Using stitch and fabric I wanted to juxtaposed gender norms by using the phrase like a girl as well a like a boy and stitching the them on fabric that is not stereo-typically associated with that gender in order to question what it means to be and boy and a girl.
Bibliography
En.wikipedia.org. (n.d.). Craftivism. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craftivism [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Lalor, A. (2017). Women’s March and pussyhats put craftivism in the spotlight. [online] Vancouver Courier. Available at: https://www.vancourier.com/living/women-s-march-and-pussyhats-put-craftivism-in-the-spotlight-1.17083157 [Accessed 26 May 2019].
MacKenzie, M. (2018). Pussyhat Co-Creator Krista Suh Talks ‘Craftivism’ And The Art Of Building A Movement. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/macaelamackenzie/2018/06/26/co-creator-of-the-pussyhat-krista-suh-talks-craftivism-and-building-a-movement/#2f2978d94eed [Accessed 26 May 2019].
THE ALTERNATIVE UK. (2017). “Craftivism” and The School of Gentle Protest. [online] Available at: https://www.thealternative.org.uk/dailyalternative/2017/5/11/gentle-protest [Accessed 26 May 2019].
YouTube. (2014). Always #LikeAGirl. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs [Accessed 26 May 2019].
Eve Smith: SAB935 Creative Dissent 