Gentle protest

Last updated

Gentle protest
Years active2015 -
Major figures Sarah Corbett

Gentle protest is an approach to activism [1] which states that it aims to change hearts, minds, policies and laws through thoughtful and compassionate actions, intending to invite reflection and respectful conversation rather than division. It is purposefully non-aggressive. [2]

Its name came from a 2015 exhibition by Sarah Corbett at Föreningen Handarbetets Vänner in Stockholm which aimed to show that protests do not always have to be aggressive. The message of the exhibition was: "If we want our world to be more beautiful, kind & just, then our activism should be beautiful, kind & just". [3] The exhibition was shown at Helsinki Design Week [4] and as part of The Future Is Present exhibition at Designmuseum Denmark.

Corbett is an activist for social justice, Ashoka fellow, author and founder of the Craftivist Collective, a global social enterprise for individuals, groups and organisations to learn how to use crafts as a tool for activism. [5] She has said that 'gentleness'—which is not passive or weak—is the golden thread that creates real positive impact in her work. [6]

In 2017 she wrote a book, How To Be A Craftivist: The Art of Gentle Protest, [7] and ran a six-week online course titled "The School of Gentle Protest" [8] as part of a project funded by Arts Council England in collaboration with the University of Lincoln. Visiting professors included Orsola de Castro of Fashion Revolution and Catherine Howarth, CEO of ShareAction. [9]

Gentle protest has been used as a framework by groups in Potsdam, [10] the Lake District, [11] and at WWF [6] to protest on a broad range of issues. Corbett has worked with organisations including The Scout Association. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protest</span> Public expression of objection, typically political

A protest is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate by attending, and share the potential costs and risks of doing so. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass political demonstrations. Protesters may organize a protest as a way of publicly making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or government policy, or they may undertake direct action in an attempt to enact desired changes themselves. When protests are part of a systematic and peaceful nonviolent campaign to achieve a particular objective, and involve the use of pressure as well as persuasion, they go beyond mere protest and may be better described as civil resistance or nonviolent resistance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ACT UP</span> International AIDS activism, direct action and advocacy group

AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, and working to change legislation and public policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiber art</span> Artworks made of textile materials

Fiber art refers to fine art whose material consists of natural or synthetic fiber and other components, such as fabric or yarn. It focuses on the materials and on the manual labor on the part of the artist as part of the works' significance, and prioritizes aesthetic value over utility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolutionary Knitting Circle</span>

The Revolutionary Knitting Circle (RKC) is an international activist group that engages in craftivism, focusing on knitting and textile handicrafts to promote social change. Established in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, by Grant Neufeld in 2000. The group uses knitting to contrast with the ideas that protests are violent and the ways in which police handle the protests. The movement has expanded, with groups forming in various regions of the United States and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craftivism</span> Form of activism centered on practices of craft

Craftivism is a form of activism, typically incorporating elements of anti-capitalism, environmentalism, solidarity, or third-wave feminism, that is centered on practices of craft - or what has traditionally been referred to as "domestic arts". Craftivism includes, but is not limited to, various forms of needlework including yarn-bombing or cross-stitch. Craftivism is a social process of collective empowerment, action, expression and negotiation. In craftivism, engaging in the social and critical discourse around the work is central to its production and dissemination. Practitioners are known as craftivists. The word 'craftivism' is a portmanteau of the words craft and activism.

Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA) is a nonprofit arts organization that supports and promotes the work of Asian American women artists in the visual, literary, and performing arts through activities such as art events, lectures, artists salons, and member exhibitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Per Hüttner</span> Swedish visual artist

Per Hüttner is a Swedish visual artist who lives and works in Paris. He is mostly known for his photographic work and for his interactive, changing and travelling exhibition projects. A number of monographs about his practice has been published including Per Hüttner, 2003; I am a Curator, 2004; Repetitive Time 2006, Xiao Yao You2006, Democracy and Desire 2007. The Imminent Interviews 2010 and The Quantum Police 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meredith Stern</span> American drummer

Meredith Stern is an artist, musician and disc jockey living in Providence, Rhode Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrie Reichardt</span> British artist

Carrie Reichardt is a British artist known for her provocative protest art and collaborative large-scale pieces around systemic injustice and social activism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Activism</span> Efforts to make change in society toward a perceived greater good

Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate building in a community, petitioning elected officials, running or contributing to a political campaign, preferential patronage of businesses, and demonstrative forms of activism like rallies, street marches, strikes, sit-ins, or hunger strikes.

Craftivist Collective British advocacy group

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. It is based in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Corbett (activist)</span> English speaker, author and activist

Sarah Corbett is an English activist, author, speaker, and the founder of Craftivist Collective. Corbett is known for developing the 'gentle protest' approach to activism, and coining the term 'gentle protest'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kakan Hermansson</span> Swedish television presenter, radio host, comedian and artist

Karin Signhild Hermansson, better known as Kakan Hermansson, is a Swedish television presenter, radio host, comedian and artist. She has had her own television show on Sveriges Television (SVT) called Kaka på Kaka and has worked on shows for both Sveriges Radio and TV4. A graduate of the Stockholm art academy Konstfack, she works with a feminist art collective and has exhibited her art in various places. She calls herself a radical feminist and anarchist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne Strengell</span> Finnish-American textile designer

Marianne Strengell was an influential Finnish-American Modernist textile designer in the twentieth century. Strengell was a professor at Cranbrook Academy of Art from 1937 to 1942, and she served as department head from 1942 to 1962. She was able to translate hand-woven patterns for mechanized production, and pioneered the use of synthetic fibers.

Cat Mazza is an American textile artist. Her practice combines tactical media, activism, craft-based art making and animation in a form that has frequently been described as craftivism. She is the founder of the craftivist collective microRevolt. Mazza is an associate professor of art at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coral Short</span> Canadian multimedia artist and curator

Coral Short is a queer Canadian multimedia artist and curator. Based in Berlin and Montreal, they are best known for their performance art, as a curator of short film programs, and as a creator of affordable queer artist residencies.

L.J. Roberts is an American textile artist. Roberts, who is genderqueer and uses singular they pronouns, explores queer and feminist politics in their work.

Betsy Greer is a writer, editor, maker and speaker credited with popularizing the term Craftivism.

Fashion activism is the practice of using fashion as a medium for social, political, and environmental change. The term has been used recurringly in the works of designers and scholars Lynda Grose, Kate Fletcher, Mathilda Tham, Kirsi Niinimäki, Anja-Lisa Hirscher, Zoe Romano, and Orsola de Castro, as they refer to systemic social and political change through the means of fashion. It is also a term used by some fashion designers, one being Stella McCartney. The spectacle of fashion activism as street protest has also been a theme in Paris Catwalk shows. The term is used by Céline Semaan, co-founder of the Slow Factory Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Downey</span> American crafter and activist

Shannon Downey is an American crafter and activist. Downey is recognized as a leader in the field of craftivism, using cross-stitching as an activism tool. Downey serves as director of development at Asian American Advancing Justice and is an adjunct professor at DePaul University and Columbia College.

References

  1. ↑ "Sarah Corbett". Ashoka. 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  2. ↑ Townsend, Solitaire (16 November 2020). "100 UK Leading Environmentalists (Who Happen To Be Women)". Forbes. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  3. ↑ Corbett, Sarah (15 July 2015). "'Gentle Protest' exhibition by Sarah Corbett, Stockholm". Craftivist Collective blog. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "Gentle Protest by Sarah Corbett". Design District Helsinki. September 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  5. ↑ Thompson, Kailey (30 November 2021). "Craftivism Offers an Alternative To Traditional Protests as a Powerful Means of Expression". Good Good Good. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  6. 1 2 Four Thought: Craftivism: Gentle Protest (23' radio programme). BBC Radio 4. 23 September 2020.
  7. ↑ Corbett, Sarah (2017). How To Be A Craftivist. Unbound.
  8. ↑ Morrison, Greg (17 April 2017). "The art of gentle protest". Positive News. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  9. ↑ Corbett, Sarah (15 March 2017). "Become a student of our 6week School of Gentle Protest". Craftivist Collective blog. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Rücknahme der Kürzungen im Sozialbereich gefordert". AWO Bezirksverband Potsdam e.V. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  11. ↑ Dingwall, Ed (7 September 2021). "High Peak crafters stage 'gentle protest' on Mam Tor to pressure MP over climate crisis". Buxton Advertiser. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  12. ↑ Abraham, Aimee-lee (29 October 2018). "The art of gentle protest". Medium. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.