Monthly Archives: September 2017

CRAFTIVISM – REVOLUTION AND YARN

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A form of activism, typically incorporating elements of anti-capitalism, environmentalism solidarity or 3rd wave feminism, typically referred to as “domestic arts”.

“Knitting circles are sometimes scoffed at as frivolous ‘gossiping circles’ when really, these circles are powerful gatherings”.

Knitting and handicrafts have a long history in protesting, but the pussycat project has been particularly important.

REVOLUTION AND YARN

  • In Canada, theres the revolutionary knitting circle, which first made headlines for their project at 2002 G8 Summit
  • Australia has the knitting Nannas who protest about environmental issues by holding “knit ins”.
  • “Wool against weapons” in the UK knitted a 7 mile long pink “peace scarf” – a year later they repurposed it to thousands of blankets for those in need in war zones and developing nations.
  • “Yarn Bombing” reclaims urban spaces by re covering everyday items in brightly coloured knits

Pussy Hat Power

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In January of this year there were thousands of women gathering in solidarity. The pink sea of women and men were standing up for rights against Donald Trump, and the pink hats had a meaningful message.

The ‘Pussy hat project’ was launched Thanksgiving weekend to knit thousands of pink hats for those who would march in Washington, D.C. for the Women’s March.

The mission behind the project was to provide a “unique collective visual statement which will help activists be better heard” and also to provide “people who cannot physically be on the National Mall a way to represent themselves and support women’s rights.”

“We chose this loaded word for our project because we want to reclaim the term as a means of empowerment” after Trumps comment about how he grabs women “by the pussy”, but it also stands for so much more:

“Women, whether transgender or cisgender are mistreated in this society. In order to get fair treatment, the answer is not to take away our pussies, the answer is not to deny our femaleness and femininity, the answer is to demand fair treatment. A woman’s body is her own. We are honouring this truth and standing up for our rights.”

This quote from the pussy hat website explains why the project was called pussy hat project.

 

By making Pussyhats pink, the organisers also look to reclaim two elements that are traditionally associated with femininity and womanhood—and derided precisely because of those reasons. “Pink is considered a very female colour representing care, compassion, and love – all qualities that have been derided as weak but are actually STRONG,” the intro continues. “Wearing pink together is a powerful statement that we are unapologetically feminine and we unapologetically stand for women’s rights.”

Craft is a powerful means of protest, it is something that everyone can get involved in, in order to be part of the protest even if they can’t be there in person.

 

Women have been using craft as a form of protest, in particular knitting and embroidery in their activism for well over 100 years. Women like to use craft to rebuke patriarchal notions of femininity, because society likes to view craft-making as the dominion of docile, domestic lady hood.

Political craft movements like “stitch and bitch”, a third wave feminist knitting trend, can give one “space to consider”. Corbett describes herself as being a “burnt-out” activist before she discovered the concept of craftivism. “It’s small, intriguing, and humble,” she says. “I also found that, when I was stitching, it would really calm me down and help me think deeply about injustice issues — what mark am I making on the world? What change do I want to see? How am I contributing to it effectively?”

“If everyone at the march wears a pink hat, the crowd will be a sea of pink, showing that we stand together, united,” reads the introduction to the knitting pattern on the Pussyhat Project website.

ACTIVISM IN FASHION COMMUNICATION – Guerrilla Girls

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Initial Research:

Guerilla Girls

The Guerrilla Girls are Feminist activist artists, over 55 people have been members over the years, some for weeks, some for decades. Their anonymity keeps the focus on the issues and away from who they are. They wear gorilla masks in public as a disguise, they use shocking facts and statistics, humour and outrageous visuals to expose gender and ethnic bias as well as corruption in politics, art, film and pop culture. The Guerrilla Girls have done over 100 street projects, posters and stickers all over the world. They also do projects and exhibitions at galleries and museums, attacking them for their bad behaviour and discriminatory practices right on their own walls.

Some of the Guerrilla Girls projects pose the questions to the public:

why DO WOMEN HAVE TO BE NAKED TO GET INTO MUSIC VIDEOS WHILE 99% OF THE GUYS ARE DRESSED?

Sure, 50% of the artists in the G I R L exhibition are women, but since 2010 only 13% of solo exhibitions have been by women artists. We grafittied one of our early posters to show that not much has changed: BUS COMPANIES ARE (STILL) MORE ENLIGHTENED THAN ART GALLERIES.

In 2016 we re-examined a 1986 poster (It’s Even Worse in Europe) to find out how things were going for women and artists of color in Europe. We sent almost 400 questionnaires to European museums and kunsthalles and let them explain the situation in their own words. We got 100 replies and made an exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. The 300 who ignored our request? We put their names on the floor where visitors walked all over them.

https://www.guerrillagirls.com/projects/