Craftivism is a form of activism in which you can express your opinions and values through crafts. Through handicraft, everyone can deal with their own emotions and thoughts, and make a statement on issues that seem personally important.
Be a craftivist and make a change.
We are compiling works of craftivism to express what craftivism means these days and what kinds of views the craftivists themselves have regarding craftivism. We’re looking for works from between 2020–2022, containing craftivism regarding either the craftivist’s own life or a societal matter.
Read more about the callWhat is my footprint? Stitch your thoughts towards a world where we respect peace, nature, animals and human beings.
We make our daily choices based on our values. It depends on all of us, how do we live on this planet and take care of it. We can make a difference towards a better future and the well-being of our planet.
KSL Study Centre launched the Jalanjälkeni (My footprint) craftivism campaign in 2020. The sunflower theme was introduced in the spring of 2022 after Russia attacked Ukraine.
With small actions each one of us can influence building peace and developing democracy. Stitch your statement with the supplies you will find in your craftivism kit. For example, the national flower of Ukraine, the sunflower, is a gesture of solidarity towards Ukrainians, who have been attacked in their own homeland.
The disturbance of peace will affect us for a long time to come. People in the middle of a crisis need help and support. Peace and democracy have to be defended even stronger than before. Emotions and thoughts can be shared by craftivism.
You can stitch by yourself or gather up a group of people to do some craftivism. Doing things together enables the sharing of emotions and knowledge. Together you can also think about how to help the victims of the war. Display the work on your window, attach it on your clothes, take it to a protest or share an image of it on social media.
Sketch your thoughts onto the felt with a pencil. You can also cut the felt to a size or shape, that is suitable to you.
Open up a coil of thread, thread a needle and make a knot on the other end. Start from the reverse side by
threading the needle through the felt and by making stitches of appropriate length on the lines you drew earlier.
When you have completed the work, tie off the thread with a knot on the reverse side. You can decorate the felt with, for example, the buttons, beads and pieces of cloth you may find at your home. Should you want to, you can sew a #jalanjälkeni -tag on your work.
Take a picture of your work and share it on social media with the tags like #jalanjälkeni #rauha #peace #sunflowerforukraine #kulttuuriaktivismi
#käsityöaktivismi #craftivism. Tag on Instagram @jalanjalkeni.
