17 Feb “I think the way crafitvism conveys its message works really well in engaging people in a different way to more traditional forms of activism.” says craftivist Natasha Peters
“My Craftivism” is a series: We’re always excited to hear about & spotlight craftivism projects that fellow craftivistas are involved in. It can really inspire us, challenge us and hopefully get us all thinking about what is effective craftivism. In this series we hope to offer a platform to craftivists to show and speak about their latest craftivism activities & their approach to craftivism (which may be different to ours). If you would like to share your own craftivism piece or event with us please do email us at Craftivist.Collective@gmail.com for more info
Craftivist Natasha Peter
Name: Natasha Peter
Location: Gloucester, UK
Craft of choice: I mostly knit and cross stitch. I’m hoping to learn embroidery and crochet too.
How did you get into craftivism? I follow Mr X Stitch on Facebook, and through him I found out about the Craftivist Collective’s #imapiece project. I loved the idea of using craft to convey a message and felt it would give my crafting some sort of purpose and focus. I used to work as a campaigner, but had become disillusioned by more traditional forms of activism as I felt they didn’t really engage anyone in the issue at hand, from both the perspectives of activists and politicians.
Tell us about your craftivism project / event – what did you do, and how, and why? My latest project is a mini protest banner on freedom of expression. I was influenced by the case of Pussy Riot and their imprisonment for speaking out against the current government. Then I read about the government relaxing its approach towards China in order to foster business and investment, and thought that it tied neatly into that too. I start projects by trying to find a quote that matches the message I’m trying to get across and go from there. I compile a list and trust my instincts to tell me which one would be best. It also has to be quite short otherwise it can end up tiny and would be difficult to catch people’s attention.
Natasha’s mini protest banner in situ
What response have you got / do you hope to get from your craftivism? I hope it makes people reflect on the many places around the world that imprison and torture people for speaking out against the status quo. We may not have the perfect government, but at least we are able to express that without fear of recriminations. I hope it encourages someone to get involved with the Craftivist Collective too.
What were you thinking about while you were stitching? I do most of my thinking about the issue I’m focusing on before stitching. As mentioned, I spend time thinking about the issue and how best to express that through an appropriate quote or statistic. Whilst stitching I mostly focus on trying to get the stitching right!
How do you think that craftivism can change the world? There are many ways in which it can change the world. I think the way crafitvism conveys its message works really well in engaging people in a different way to more traditional forms of activism. Hopefully this will make it more memorable and lead people to researching a particular issue. I know personally that it’s made me reflect on issues I may not have thought of before, and hopefully it would do the same for others, changing the world in the process.
Anything else we should know? I have to mention my partner who helps me come up with ideas of where to place my bits of craftivism. She acts as my look out too!
Come to our stall at Crafty Fox Market, Peckham | Craftivist Collective
Posted at 00:34h, 01 March[…] to people buying them for friends and family as Christmas presents. We also met the lovely quiet Natasha Peters at the Christmas stall who has been supporting us for a while and making our Mini Protest […]