Craftivism

Craftivism (a term coined by Betsy Greer) is using art or crafts to support or draw attention to a social cause or campaign. It has sometimes been termed as ‘gentle protest’ as it seeks to engage in caring, but never passive, activism. The format can be entirely down to personal preference and skill level, from painting signs for protests to yarn bombing. These can all be done individually or in groups to pull together for a larger effort (and more fun!)

Craftivism has had some amazing impacts on social causes, such as:

• Stitches for Survival knitted/crocheted/stitched 1.5 miles of climate messages for COP26 (to match the 1.5 degree Celsius target in the Paris Agreement).
• Craftivist Collective embroidered handkerchiefs to help M&S workers get higher wages.
• Clothesline Project started in Cape Cod to draw attention to gender based violence. GotConsent did their own Clothesline in the Cloisters in April 2024.
• The Yarn Mission is a US group that knits for Black Liberation.

You might find the Craftivist Collective website useful. They have a free course on craftivism and some playlists to inspire you as you go about your craftivism.  You can read more about climate craftivism on the Curious Earth website.