Sarah Corbett is a speaker, professional activist, author and the founder of Craftivist Collective, a social enterprise which uses the technique of craftivism - combining craft and activism - to engage people in social justice issues "in a quiet, non-confrontational manner involving pretty, handcrafted gestures of defiance." She wrote ''A Little Book of Craftivism'' which was published in 2013,Corbett, Sarah (2013). ''A Little Book of Craftivism''. Cicada.''How a piece of fabric can change the world: Sarah Corbett at TEDxBrixton''
youtube.com, 23 October 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014 and ''How To Be A Craftivist'', published in 2017.Corbett, Sarah (2017). ''How To Be A Craftivist''. Unbound.

Craftivism

Corbett has "a huge passion for craft".Nikki Shaill, ''Craftivist Collective'', ''Lady Craft'' zine for Ladyfest Ten, Summer 2010 She has no formal training as an artist or craftsperson, saying "I can do it anyone can do it." Her main craft is cross-stitch,Holly Howe, ''Sarah Corbett'', ''House'', Autumn 2010 which she often uses to make mini-protest banners. She has described her work as using "creativity to make the public aware of the struggles people are still going through".DK Goldstein, ''Make a Stand'', ''Pica Pica magazine'', 2010 Work by Sarah Corbett has been exhibited and sold in art exhibitions including: * 'Article 31.1' at Workshop 44. * 'Renegade Potters and Extreme Craft' at Ink_d.Hannah Bullivant, ''The Craftivist Collective'', http://www.ameliasmagazine.com/earth/the-craftivist-collective/2010/04/05/, 5 April 2010 * 'Riot Here, Riot Now' at W3 Gallery. * 'Spoken Threads' in New York and Los Angeles. * 'Gentle Protest' in Stockholm. She has spoken about craftivism at various

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meetups, Salon London, Lost Lectures,

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at The Ivy, the

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 ...

and at

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. She has also given guest lectures at Parsons The New School for Design and Leeds College of Art, participated in a project with Falmouth University and has been a Twitter chair and guest blogger for 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 ...

. She is a columnist for Crafty Magazine and MrXStitch.com and blogs regularly for Campaign Central. Corbett was featured on ''Stitched Stories'', a documentary by Northern Productions. She was also a panellist discussing 'Not Knowing' for the

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Speakeasy podcast. Corbett's 2016 talk ''Activism Needs Introverts'' was featured on the TED homepage in November 2017 and has generated over 1 million views since. ''Sarah Corbett: Activism needs Introverts''
ted.com. Retrieved 23 November 2017

Background

Corbett grew up in West Everton in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

in the 1980s, when it was one of the most deprived wards in the UK.Katie Harris
''Meet the women quietly crafting their own revolution''
''The Daily Telegraph'', 13 March 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014 Her mother is a local councillor in Liverpool and her father is a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

.Sharon Barnard and Jameela Oberman, ''I use my craft skills as a tool for peace'', ''Woman Alive'', May 2012 Her parents have been a big influence on Corbett's politics, for example by taking her to South Africa as a childKarima Adi, ''Craftivism'', ''Lionheart'' magazine, issue 4 and on protests to save local housing from demolition. She has said "All we ever do around the kitchen table is talk about religion and politics."Charlotte Humphery, ''We'll change the world stitch by stitch'', ''Oh Comely'' magazine At school Corbett was voted

Head Girl Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...

and successfully campaigned for lockers for students. She studied 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 ...

Jameela Oberman, ''Stitch in time'', ''Big Issue in the North'', 10–16 October 2011 where she was active in numerous campaign groups. After graduating she took a course on grassroots community action based on the work of

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known a ...

. She went on to work for various international charities in their youth and community programmes and campaigns departments, including

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and the

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. In 2011 she worked on campaigns for

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in London. In 2012 she went part-time at Oxfam to devote more time to the Craftivist Collective. Corbett is a Christian who says faith plays a role in her craftivism and that she has "learnt to act out my faith rather than just talk about it". One of Corbett's most distinctive features is her tattooed arms, which include a pair of scissors wrapped in thread, a sewing needle, measuring tape, and safety pins. The 'craft tattoos' remind her of "what I do and why and to make sure I keep going."Ruth Lewy, ''I get frustrated knitting socks. I want to make a difference.'', ''The Times Saturday Review'', 10 December 2011

References

External links

* Vida, Obra y Libros usado
de Sarah-Corbett

Craftivist Collective website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Sarah 21st-century English women writers British women activists English Christians English human rights activists English women artists Living people Oxfam people People associated with the University of Manchester People from Everton Textile artists Women human rights activists Women textile artists Year of birth missing (living people)