What is ‘Craftivism’?

'I came across the word 'Craftivism' a few months ago, but it seems that the word has been used for over a decade. The word comes from the joining of craft and activism. When I think of activism, I think of protest marches, shouting and writing angry letters. These are things that I cannot do, it's not in my nature, and yet I am passionate about the climate emergency, health inequality and social justice. This seemed like a possible solution. I liked the idea of using my craft skills to show my concern for the world. Craftivism should start with the activism and then the craft design comes after. The process of slow crafting can help the craftivists reflect and think about the issues. 

During that first week I kept hearing and seeing the verse from Micah 6 v8. 'What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?'

As I thought about Craftivism, I began to think of another word, Craftilism, a mashup of Craft and Evangelism. Our Christmas angels may be an example of this and more could be done in the future.' - Anne McCulloch

'Craftivism is about making a positive impact on the world by raising awareness of important issues, and gently encouraging people to do something about them. I believe this fits perfectly with the call on Christians to make a difference to people's lives. It also takes on one of the teachings of the Growing Young course - young people want to see the church taking an interest and action on social injustice.’ - Katelynne Kirk

As well as running our regular Craft and Chatter zoom calls and our on-going projects, we are holding a Craftivism workshop on the 19th June which will be open to everyone. We have chosen to make this a Saturday so as many people can join as possible. This will be a chance to learn more about Craftivism and to work on a project together. Details of the project will be revealed closer to the workshop date. If this is successful, we would like Craftivism projects to become an outreach part of the Creative group, which can be advertised to people outside of the church so they can join in. This would be just one part of the Creative Group’s activities as we will continue to work on other non-craftivist projects, so people can choose which project suits them. If you would like more information about our on-going projects, more information about our Craftivism workshop or would like to join the relaxed Craft and Chatter calls on a Thursday night please contact us at creative@barclayviewforth.org.uk.