Craftivist Collective

The Craftivist Collective has been called 'guerrilla crafting',[5] as their projects often involve leaving crafted messages in public places. Their projects are often small-scale, intended to draw people in.[3] There are lists of projects to do and video tutorials online.[20] They run talks, workshops, stalls and exhibitions and sell Craftivist Collective kits and merchandise.[5]

The 'collective' is a loose term covering anyone who gets involved.[17] The group particularly seeks to engage people who haven't previously had much involvement or interest in civic engagement. For many members the group is a stepping stone to more traditional activism methods.[21] Corbett calls it 'slow activism'[19] and 'introverted activism', saying "it's not about performance and vying for attention, it's about offering people the choice to engage".[1]

The groups hold regular meetings.[22][23] Other groups such as Women's Institutes and schools have also been involved in projects.[24] The collective is self-funded and receives donated materials from supporters.[1]

A self-proclaimed 'burnt-out activist' who disliked the image of the aggressive activist, but wanted to do something to change the world,[18] Sarah Corbett was involved in activism while growing up in Liverpool and then studying at the University of Manchester.[5] She worked for traditional charities for seven years.[12] It was after moving to London for a job in 2007[7] and joining various activist groups that she started getting increasingly into her hobby of cross-stitch, finding that it helped with stress.

She didn't feel like she fitted into any of the activist groups she joined in London.[3] She had been cross-stitching as a hobby since the age of 18 and in August 2008[17] had the 'light bulb' idea to combine the two.[5]

Corbett set up the Lonely Craftivist blog in 2008[5] and began receiving comments and emails from people around the world asking to join in. She held a first meeting[3] and got in touch with sociologist Betsy Greer who coined the word 'craftivism' in 2003 by.[25] Greer was encouraging[20] so Corbett founded and co-ordinated a national group called Craftivist Collective.[5] In 2012 she went part-time at her Oxfam job to devote more time to the collective,[4] and in October 2012 gave up her job to work full-time for Craftivist Collective.[25]

The group have worked with Christian Aid, One World Week,[26] Oxfam,[6][27] Save the Children,[28] People & Planet, Toms Shoes,[29] Bystander Revolution,[30] UNICEF,[31] and War on Want.[14]

They have run workshops at the Greenbelt festival, Hayward Gallery, NUS Student Conference, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Secret Cinema, Secret Garden Party, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Southbank Centre, Tate Britain, UCL, Victoria and Albert Museum/Coats,[32] Wilderness Festival and the Women's Library.[1][7][27][21][24]

The group’s work has been exhibited at the Bluecoat gallery in Liverpool,[26] the People's History Museum,[25] St Fagans museum in Cardiff,[33] and the Ulster Hall, Belfast.[34] The collective supports Fine Cell Work, a social enterprise that trains prisoners in needlework.[35][36]

Sarah Corbett has given talks about the Craftivist Collective at the British Museum,[37] Sunday Wise, TedX Brixton,[38] and the Wigtown Book Festival. She has been a guest lecturer at Parsons The New School for Design and Leeds College of Art.

A Little Book of Craftivism by Sarah Corbett was published in Autumn 2013 by Cicada Publishing, distributed by Thames & Hudson. This was followed by How To Be A Craftivist in October 2017.[39]

The collective was featured on Al Jazeera in September 2013[40] and on the Canal+ television show Nouveaux Explorateurs: Megalopolis, broadcast in France in November 2011.[41][42]

• Official website
• A Lonely Craftivist blog