Knowra Craftivism Craftivism Craftivism is activism that uses craft practices to express political or social positions. It combines making with public communication, community-building, or protest.
Knitting activism : Political or social action carried out through knitting, including public installations and symbolic objects. Knitted pieces can carry messages, transform public spaces, or build solidarity.
Betsy Greer : An American writer and activist who coined the term craftivism in 2003. Greer gave a name to activism rooted in craft and helped define its modern public identity.
Craft : Skilled making of objects, often through handwork and specialized techniques. Craftivism depends on making practices whose materials and methods can carry political meaning.
Culture jamming : A form of activism that disrupts or subverts dominant media and commercial messages. It often intervenes through mass-media symbols rather than handmade objects and craft processes.
Yarn bombing : A form of street art that covers public objects with knitted or crocheted material. It turns craft into a visible, often temporary intervention in shared space.
Women's suffrage movement : The campaign for women's right to vote, organized across countries and generations. Suffrage activists used needlework and other domestic arts to circulate political messages.
Fiber art : Art that uses fibers, textiles, or textile-making techniques as its primary medium. Textile practices provide many of craftivism's most recognizable materials and forms.
Do-it-yourself culture : A culture of making, repairing, or modifying things without relying on professional services or mass production. DIY values overlap with craftivism, but DIY activity need not express a political position.
Subversive cross-stitch : Cross-stitch embroidery used to convey irreverent, critical, or politically charged messages. Its domestic associations can sharpen the contrast with confrontational slogans.
AIDS Memorial Quilt : A large memorial textile composed of panels commemorating people who died of AIDS-related causes. Its emergence in the 1980s showed how collective textile-making could challenge silence around AIDS.
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