The Goethe-Institut Washington and the DC Public Library will host a conversation and hands-on workshop that explores the intersections of knitting and feminism – especially in an age of digital media and widespread activism. Three experts who all engage in "craftivism" in their own ways will discuss the personal and broader power of knitting. All participants will have the opportunity to knit a small item – a pouch or a yarn tag – that can be utilized for the Women’s March on January 19, 2019. Yarn and knitting needles will be provided, but participants are welcome to bring their own materials and tools as well. Knitters of all skill levels, including beginners, are welcome.
Our guests will be New York-based knitter
Sydney Crabaugh and Baltimore-based fiber artists
Melissa Salzman and
Sari Holt, both members of the team at
Lovelyarns shop in Hampden. All three guests will speak to their personal experiences and backgrounds as fiber artists, how their respective endeavors relate to feminist empowerment, and how digital media, activism, and today’s political-social climate shapes a new perspective on "craftivism."
Register
Sydney Crabaugh - also known as Squidney Knits (
@squidneyknits on Instagram) - is a fiber artist based in New York City. The co-manager of fabric and yarn shop
Purl Soho, Sydney is especially passionate about knitting patterns from the past. An expert on vintage clothing with a background in Gender Studies and Film, Sydney is experienced in creating unique pieces based on vintage patterns and leading knitting workshops for knitters of all skill levels.
Lovelyarns is an independent yarn shop in Baltimore, Maryland, which specializes in local independently-dyed yarn and fiber. Aside from carrying yarn, Lovelyarns carries beads, books, and fiber for spinning and felting. Classes in weaving, spinning, and other fiber arts are offered at Lovelyarns as well.
Lovelyarns is owned by
Melissa Salzman, a Baltimore native with a background in Studio Art. She is especially skilled in knitting and crochet, and is also learning to spin and weave. She enjoys the company of her friends and colleagues at Lovelyarns, as well as the community of makers who frequent her shop.
Sari Holt, also a member of the Lovelyarns team, likes to make things with string. She is semi self-taught, and has been knitting for 6 years, crocheting for 3, and is just learning to spin. Her day job as a legislative aide makes participating in craftivism all the more enjoyable.
This evening is a part of our
#FeminismToMe hashtag campaign. With this hashtag, we are collecting personal definitions of feminism on Instagram. The social media campaign is the overarching theme of a series of events, in which we give different voices of the feminist movement a platform at Goethe-Institut Washington.
----------------------------------------------
Over the last decade, intersections between feminism, activism, and the fiber arts – including knitting, crochet, weaving, and spinning – have made their way into general public awareness and garnered attention in mainstream pop culture. In 2012, homemade balaclavas united demonstrators across the world when members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot were arrested. Images of the 2017 Women’s March were highlighted by seas of pink "Pussyhats" in a DIY movement that spread globally. "Yarn-bombing," or "yarn-storming," has emerged as a popular street art form that interrogates relationships between the individual and the patriarchal urban space.
But the connections between fiber arts and feminism reach far beyond the occasional phenomena that cross over into the mainstream. Sometimes these connections are not immediately identifiable at all, and the parallel narratives between the fiber arts and feminism unravel (!) through dialogue and hands-on application. How can knitting affect social change? How is it a means of self-empowerment and the empowerment of others?
Back
