CRAFT + ACTIVISM = CRAFTIVISM
We are a class of Year 5 (age 9 and 10) students who wanted to work with our feelings after a healthy relationships lesson on FGM (female genital mutilation). We spent a whole day learning about craftivism and cross-stitch activism.
Using the AGENDA starter activities (What Jars You, & Runway 4 Change) we created a cross-stitch banner in the shape of a heart for everyone to read.
THIS IS OUR STORY…
“Craftivism is to tackle issues not with anger and shouting, but with gentle protest. Gentleness is not weak, it requires self-control in the face of anger, injustice and sadness. Gentle protest lets us have conversation instead of an argument, debate instead of shouting, and collaboration instead of opposition”
– by Sarah Corbett
1: Learning about human rights, gender equality and FGM (female genital mutilation)
We learnt about FGM from our lesson with the Spectrum Project and how it is against human rights. Some of us already knew about FGM from our parents and also from T.V. and social media.
2: Making P.A.N.T.S. Bunting
At the end of the lesson we learnt about our rights to privacy and how our body belonged to us and nobody else. We used the NSPCC resource P.A.N.T.S. to make our own P.A.N.T.S bunting. This really helped us remember our rights to privacy, protection, safety and speaking up!!
3: Making our feelings matter
Learning about FGM made us feel angry, worried, shocked and sick. We had lots of questions. Many of us wanted to do something with what we felt.
4: Making moody jars & unbuttoning our feelings
We talked about how we felt when people’s rights ARE heard and protected and when they are NOT heard and protected. To help us express our feelings we made a mood board using coloured buttons to represent each feeling. We then placed the buttons in our jars and decorated them.
5: Our runway 4 change
We mind-mapped all the changes we wanted to see in the world on our Runway 4 Change banners. We wrote about our rights and what is fair and unfair and what makes us mad.
We chose one or more issue to put on our cross-stitch squares. Some of us used staples, some of us used needles. We took photographs of them. We then carried them into the hall and shaped them into a huge heart using safety pins.
Our HEART EQUALITY banner is now displayed on our classroom wall for everyone to see.
“It was really important for us to learn about how our body belongs to us and what rights we have”
“It was good that we got to choose our own colours for our own emotions because people might have different colours for different feelings”
“You can add buttons to your jar of the different emotions like you felt throughout that day”
“I loved the heart. I loved making things”
“It was a good way to get rid of all your angry emotions by putting them into the jar”
“We drew a sad face because people want to change something but maybe they can't change it...and we have a sick face because the things people do to each other make us feel sick”
“We got to make more friends because we helped each other. We were getting closer as friends by doing this”
MORE CROSS-STITCH and CRAFTIVISM PROJECTS
Craftivism Manifesto
Quilting Craftivism
Yarn bombing 101
Stitched Voices
The Footprint Project
Read Our Messages 4 Change
Love matters…
because everyone should be loved and appreciated
Peace matters…
because everyone needs peace
Equality matters…
because we want the world to be equal
Gender equality matters…
because people should have the same rights whatever their gender (identity or expression)
Race equality matters…
because whatever you look like or whatever colour skin you have everybody should be equal
LGBTQ+ matters…
because we think that anybody can like or love whoever they want
Download the case study here:
