In Defence of Craftivism
2017
Craftivism is a crucial, indispensable form of collective empowerment and expression, capable of subverting bureaucratic, elitist authority and maintaining a ubiquitous presence in modern society. It’s an accessible, but not typically aggressive, form of protest for the masses – and, most saliently, for the marginalised - and is able to occupy public space and permeate public consciousness in a way that more traditional or conservative disciplines perhaps cannot. In a nation engineered in favour of the elite and to the disadvantage of the proletariat, craftivism provides a vital, obtainable platform for those who are systematically denied a voice.
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However, craftivism is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity amongst the very establishment that it exists to subvert; it’s being appropriated and aggrandised, with little regard for the significance or necessity of its intended message. When the art is removed from its original context, and from the initial cause that deemed its creation necessary, it is all too often reduced to a materialistic commodity or a status symbol based solely on an aesthetic trend.
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In some ways, the developing adoption of craftivism as a mainstream art form and commodity could be interpreted as a self-fulfilling prophecy; if the intention behind the creation of the art is to raise public consciousness, draw attention to an issue, and challenge the elite, are there grounds for complaint if the established arena does then engage with it? The issue is that they’re not simply engaging with it; they’re reappropriating it. Craftivism exists as a necessary platform for those without a voice; to adopt it as a purely aesthetic trend or a “luxury product” (Battersby, 2014) is to not only continue to silence them, but to nullify their means of communication and expression, and only serves to highlight the failure of the elite to recognise, acknowledge, and appropriately use their privilege.
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Reference List
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