The Craftivist Collective is "an inclusive group of people committed to using thoughtful, beautiful crafted works to help themselves and encourage others be the positive change they wish to see in the world." It was set up in 2009 by Sarah Corbett.Charlotte Humphery, ''We'll change the world stitch by stitch'', ''Oh Comely'' magazine There are around 1000 members worldwide.Sharon Barnard and Jameela Oberman, ''I use my craft skills as a tool for peace'', ''Woman Alive'', May 2012Jameela Oberman, ''Stitch in time'', ''Big Issue in the North'', 10–16 October 2011 The main group is based in LondonDK Goldstein, ''Make a Stand'', ''Pica Pica magazine'', 2010 with around 10 further active groups.Holly Howe, ''Sarah Corbett'', ''House'', Autumn 2010 The Craftivist Collective was a runner-up in the Observer Ethical Awards 2013 for the Arts & Culture Award. They were named by the ''Times'' as one of their five 'New Tribes' of 2012.''The Times Saturday Review'', 10 December 2011 Followers of the movement include

Lauren O'Farrell Lauren O'Farrell, (born 1977) also known as Deadly Knitshade, is an English author and artist. She is best known for playing a major part in the beginnings of the UK graffiti knitting street art scene, creating the Stitch London craft community a ...

, Reverse graffiti artist

Moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

, ''Guardian'' craft columnist Perri Lewis, jewellers

Tatty Devine Tatty Devine is a brand name for a jewellery company based in the East End of London, owned by Rosie Wolfenden and Harriet Vine who established the company in 1999. They have one shop in London's Covent Garden, situated on Monmouth Street. They m ...

,Karima Adi, ''Craftivism'', ''Lionheart'' magazine, issue 4 comedian Josie Long,''Contributors'', ''Mollie Makes'', issue 9

Tilly Walnes Matilda Rose "Tilly" Walnes (born January 1980) is an English fashion designer, author and educator. Based in South London, she designs plain language sewing patterns and hosts online workshops. Walnes studied at the London College of Fashion ...

, entrant in the first series of the '' Great British Sewing Bee'',''The Craftivist Collective's #minifashionprotest'', ''Crafty'' magazine, 19 July ''Company'' craft columnist and author Jazz Domino Holly, and mosaic artist

Carrie Reichardt Carrie Reichardt is a contemporary artist, who works from a studio in LondonThe Treatment Rooms A member of the Craftivism movement, Reichardt uses murals, ceramics, screen-printing and graphic design in her work. She is a dedicated advocate of t ...

.Shannon Denny, ''Threads of Change'', ''Huck'' magazine, April/May 2012

Sam Roddick Samantha "Sam" Roddick (born 1 July 1971) is the founder of ''Coco de Mer'', a British lingerie brand and retail store. She is the daughter of Body Shop founder and activist Anita Roddick. Early life and education Roddick is the younger daughter ...

is a mentor to the group and suggested the honorary label 'Craptivist' to cover non-crafty supporters. There is a manifesto and a checklist of goals for the work of the group which includes being welcoming,Ruth Lewy, ''I get frustrated knitting socks. I want to make a difference.'', ''The Times Saturday Review'', 10 December 2011 encouraging and positive,Rin Simpson, ''Getting crafty: a creative approach to activism'', ''Positive News'', Winter 2012 creative and non-threatening, and to focus on global poverty and human rights injustices

About

The Craftivist Collective has been called 'guerrilla crafting', as their projects often involve leaving crafted messages in public places. Their projects are often small-scale, intended to draw people in. There are lists of projects to do and video tutorials online.''Join the collective'', ''Mollie Makes'', issue 9 They run talks, workshops, stalls and exhibitions and sell Craftivist Collective kits and merchandise. The 'collective' is a loose term covering anyone who gets involved.Gavin, http://www.otesha.org.uk/blog/4662/diy/the-craftivism-qa.html ''The Craftivism Q&A'', otesha.org.uk, 23 March 2012 The group particularly seeks to engage people who haven't previously had much involvement or interest in civic engagement. For many members the group is a stepping stone to more traditional activism methods.Nikki Shaill, ''Craftivist Collective'', ''Lady Craft'' zine for Ladyfest Ten, Summer 2010 Corbett calls it 'slow activism' and 'introverted activism', saying "it's not about performance and vying for attention, it's about offering people the choice to engage".Corbett, Sarah (2013). ''A Little Book of Craftivism''. Cicada. The groups hold regular meetings.Wanda Caton, ''The art of resistance'', ''Weekly Zaman'', 21 July 2012''Craftivists'', ''RWD magazine'', April 2010 Other groups such as

Women's Institutes The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

and schools have also been involved in projects.Sarah Corbett-Batson, http://www.trebuchet-magazine.com/sarah-corbett-interview-part-1/ ''Sarah Corbett: Interview (part 1)'', trebuchet-magazine.com, 3 July 2013 The collective is self-funded and receives donated materials from supporters.

History

A self-proclaimed 'burnt-out activist' who disliked the image of the aggressive activist, but wanted to do something to change the world, Sarah Corbett was involved in activism while growing up in Liverpool and then studying at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

. She worked for traditional charities for seven years. It was after moving to London for a job in 2007 and joining various activist groups that she started getting increasingly into her hobby of cross-stitch, finding that it helped with stress. She didn't feel like she fitted into any of the activist groups she joined in London. She had been cross-stitching as a hobby since the age of 18 and in August 2008 had the 'light bulb' idea to combine the two. Corbett set up th
Lonely Craftivist
blog in 2008 and began receiving comments and emails from people around the world asking to join in. She held a first meeting and got in touch with sociologist Betsy Greer who coined the word ' craftivism' in 2003 by.Katie Harris
''Meet the women quietly crafting their own revolution''
telegraph.co.uk, 13 March 2013, retrieved 7 January 2014 Greer was encouraging so Corbett founded and co-ordinated a national group called Craftivist Collective. In 2012 she went part-time at her

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

job to devote more time to the collective, and in October 2012 gave up her job to work full-time for Craftivist Collective.

Activities

The group have worked with

Christian Aid Christian Aid is the relief and development agency of 41 Christian (Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox) churches in the UK and Ireland, and works to support sustainable development, eradicate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster ...

, One World Week,'’And Sew To Bed official blog’’
andsewtobed.wordpress.com, retrieved 7 January 2014

,Hannah Bullivant, ''The Craftivist Collective'', http://www.ameliasmagazine.com/earth/the-craftivist-collective/2010/04/05/, 5 April 2010 Save the Children,Rin Simpson, ''Crafts enthusiasts in stitch-up against world hunger'', ''Positive News'', Winter 2012

People & Planet People & Planet is a network of student campaign groups in the UK. It is "the largest student campaigning organisation in the country campaigning to alleviate world poverty, defend human rights and protect the environment." Organisation Pe ...

, Toms Shoes, Bystander Revolution,

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid t ...

, and War on Want. They have run workshops at the Greenbelt festival, Hayward Gallery, NUS Student Conference, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Secret Cinema,

Secret Garden Party The Secret Garden Party, often colloquially shortened to the SGP, is an independent arts and music festival which takes place in Abbots Ripton near Huntingdon in England. This location is on part of the grounds of a Georgian farmhouse and has it ...

Sheffield Doc/Fest Sheffield DocFest (formerly styled Sheffield Doc/Fest), short for Sheffield International Documentary Festival (SIDF), is an international documentary festival and Marketplace held annually in Sheffield, England. The Festival includes film s ...

, Southbank Centre, Tate Britain, UCL,

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and ...

/ Coats, Wilderness Festival and the Women's Library. The group’s work has been exhibited at the

Bluecoat The bluecoat is a style of dress code, traditionally worn in Bluecoat schools ( English private schools deriving from charity schools). The main element of the bluecoat is a long (dark blue or black) coat, belted at the waist, with white nec ...

gallery in Liverpool, the People's History Museum, St Fagans museum in Cardiff, and the Ulster Hall, Belfast. The collective supports Fine Cell Work, a social enterprise that trains prisoners in needlework.

Talks

Sarah Corbett has given talks about the Craftivist Collective at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

Sunday Wise Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday ...

, TedX Brixton,''How a piece of fabric can change the world: Sarah Corbett at TEDxBrixton''
youtube.com, 23 October 2013, retrieved 7 January 2014 and the Wigtown Book Festival. She has been a guest lecturer at Parsons The New School for Design and Leeds College of Art.

Publications

''A Little Book of Craftivism'' by Sarah Corbett was published in Autumn 2013 by Cicada Publishing, distributed by

Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

. This was followed by ''How To Be A Craftivist'' in October 2017.Corbett, Sarah (2017). ''How To Be A Craftivist''. Unbound.

Media

The collective was featured on

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

in September 2013 and on the Canal+ television show ''Nouveaux Explorateurs: Megalopolis'', broadcast in France in November 2011.Jameela Oberman, ''Panache!'', ''Adbusters Australia'', Nov/Dec 2011''London Craftivists filmed for French TV: Canal+ Nov 2011''
14 January 2012, retrieved 7 January 2014

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://craftivist-collective.com
A Lonely Craftivist blog
Handicrafts British artist groups and collectives Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom 2009 establishments in the United Kingdom