Are you a potential Craftivist?

On Wednesday, I joined a group of volunteers to assist at a “ Patches of Hope” stitching event run by the Craftivist Collective.

I have been aware of the work of the collective for about 18 months, and have been impressed by their philosophy of "gentle protest”. I’ve been a regular attender of demonstrations during my life, but am increasingly worried about the lack of impact even the largest of public demonstrations is having on government policy.

This event was a prelude to a Tate Late on 24 Feb ( free, but registration needed, I think ), and is based on the Crystal Quilt by Suzanne Lacey, an installation addressing several topics but one of which was  how women, particularly older women, are perceived in society. ( Photos from @Craftivists and Aron Klein)

The intent was that each attendee chose a word that they wanted to see more of in the world, and while stitching, thought about what actions they would take in their own life to enable more of that word to come to the fore. In addition, each table had a facilitator who eased people in to discussion about why their chosen word was important to them, and encouraged cross-table debate about the word. The little bottles of Prosecco helped conversation flow, but were not as helpful to the flow of the stitching.

This was a lovely event, and an opportunity for cross-generational conversations about the state of the world and what we can each do in our own communities, however small or large they may be, to increase hope. Unfortunately, I can’t make it to the Tate Late, but the Craftivists will be there, as will be many of the attendees from Wednesday, all wearing their patches. As one of my words was “Share”, a much mis-used term in these days of social media, if you do go , and want to wear a patch, please contact me and I’ll send you one of mine!