Sarah P. Corbett
Born
West Everton, Liverpool, England, UK
Known forFounder of Craftivist Collective

Sarah Corbett is an English activist,[1][2] author, speaker, and the founder of Craftivist Collective. Corbett is known for developing the 'gentle protest' approach to activism, and coining the term.[3]

In 2020 she was featured in Forbes' list of 100 UK Leading Environmentalists (Who Happen To Be Women).[4]

She is a lifelong Ashoka fellow[5] and in 2022 was awarded an honorary degree from Goldsmiths.[3]

Her work is based on psychology and neuroscience,[6] and her style is becoming a critical friend to those in power.[7]

Background

Corbett grew up in West Everton in Liverpool in the 1980s,[8] when it was one of the most deprived wards in the UK.[9] Her mother is a local councillor in Liverpool and her father is a vicar.[10] Her parents have been a big influence on Corbett's politics, for example by taking her to South Africa as a child[11] and on protests to save local housing from demolition. She has said "All we ever do around the kitchen table is talk about religion and politics."[12]

At school Corbett was voted Head Girl and successfully campaigned for lockers for students. She studied at the University of Manchester[13] where she was active in numerous campaign groups. After graduating she took a course on grassroots community action based on the work of Steve Biko. She went on to work for various international charities in their youth and community programmes and campaigns departments, including Christian Aid and the Department for International Development.[14] In 2011 she worked on campaigns for Oxfam in London.[13] In 2012 she went part-time at Oxfam to devote more time to the Craftivist Collective.[10]

Corbett is a Christian who says faith plays a role in her craftivism and that she has "learnt to act out my faith rather than just talk about it".[10]

One of Corbett's most distinctive features is her tattooed arms, which include a pair of scissors wrapped in thread,[12] a sewing needle, measuring tape, and safety pins. The 'craft tattoos' remind her of "what I do and why and to make sure I keep going."[15]

Craftivism

Corbett has "a huge passion for craft".[16] She has no formal training as an artist or craftsperson, saying "I can do it anyone can do it."[12] Her main craft is cross-stitch,[17] which she often uses to make mini-protest banners.[13] She has described her work as using "creativity to make the public aware of the struggles people are still going through".[18]

Work by Sarah Corbett has been exhibited and sold in art exhibitions[17] including:

  • 'Article 31.1' at Workshop 44.[19]
  • 'Renegade Potters and Extreme Craft' at Ink_d.[20]
  • 'Riot Here, Riot Now' at W3 Gallery.[21]
  • 'Spoken Threads' in New York and Los Angeles.[22]
  • 'Gentle Protest' in Stockholm.[23]

She has spoken about craftivism at various TedX meetups,[14] Salon London,[8] Lost Lectures, Sunday Wise at The Ivy, the Victoria and Albert Museum and at Women's Institutes.[9]

She has also given guest lectures at Parsons The New School for Design and Leeds College of Art, participated in a project with Falmouth University[24] and has been a Twitter chair and guest blogger for the British Museum.[25] She is a columnist for Crafty Magazine and MrXStitch.com[26] and blogs regularly for Campaign Central.[27]

Corbett was featured on Stitched Stories, a documentary by Northern Productions.[28] She was also a panellist discussing 'Not Knowing' for the Lush Speakeasy podcast.[29]

Corbett's 2016 talk Activism Needs Introverts was featured on the TED homepage in November 2017 and has generated over 1 million views since. [30]

Books

  • A Little Book of Craftivism, published in 2013 by Cicada.[8][14]
  • How To Be A Craftivist, published in 2017 by Unbound.[31]
  • Canary Craftivists Manual, self-published in 2021.[32]
  • Craftivist Collective Handbook: 20 craft projects to help to make a positive difference in our world, due to be published in 2024 by Unbound.[33]

References

  1. ↑ Barnett, Tracey L. (18 December 2018). "When Crafts Become Activism: A More Beautiful Movement". Yes! Media. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  2. ↑ Siegle, Lucy (22 October 2017). "The eco guide to new mindful activism". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Sarah Corbett". Goldsmiths, University of London. 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  4. ↑ Townsend, Solitaire (16 November 2020). "100 UK Leading Environmentalists (Who Happen To Be Women)". Forbes. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "Sarah Corbett". Ashoka. 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  6. ↑ Allan, Vicky (13 October 2019). "Rebel knitters. How craftivism is changing the world, one cross stitch at a time". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  7. ↑ Mesure, Susie (1 July 2023). "How to change the world – and get paid doing it". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Corbett, Sarah (2013). A Little Book of Craftivism. Cicada.
  9. 1 2 Katie Harris, Meet the women quietly crafting their own revolution, The Daily Telegraph, 13 March 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014
  10. 1 2 3 Sharon Barnard and Jameela Oberman, I use my craft skills as a tool for peace, Woman Alive, May 2012
  11. ↑ Karima Adi, Craftivism, Lionheart magazine, issue 4
  12. 1 2 3 Charlotte Humphery, We'll change the world stitch by stitch, Oh Comely magazine
  13. 1 2 3 Jameela Oberman, Stitch in time, Big Issue in the North, 10–16 October 2011
  14. 1 2 3 How a piece of fabric can change the world: Sarah Corbett at TEDxBrixton, youtube.com, 23 October 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014
  15. ↑ Ruth Lewy, I get frustrated knitting socks. I want to make a difference., The Times Saturday Review, 10 December 2011
  16. ↑ Nikki Shaill, Craftivist Collective, Lady Craft zine for Ladyfest Ten, Summer 2010
  17. 1 2 Holly Howe, Sarah Corbett, House, Autumn 2010
  18. ↑ DK Goldstein, Make a Stand, Pica Pica magazine, 2010
  19. ↑ Article 31.1 programme, 31point1.wordpress.com. Retrieved 7 January 2014
  20. ↑ Hannah Bullivant, The Craftivist Collective, http://www.ameliasmagazine.com/earth/the-craftivist-collective/2010/04/05/, 5 April 2010
  21. ↑ Exhibition: Riot Here, Riot Now, W3 Gallery, craftivist-collective.com. Retrieved 7 January 2014
  22. ↑ Spoken Threads Craftivist Fiber Art, artragegallery.org. Retrieved 7 January 2014
  23. ↑ Sarah Corbett Gentle Protest hv-textil.se. Retrieved 13 September 2017
  24. ↑ Craftivist Garden #wellMAKING falmouth.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2017
  25. ↑ Can craft be used to help change the world?, britishmuseum.org, 31 August 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2014
  26. ↑ , mrxstitch.com. Retrieved 7 January 2014
  27. ↑ , campaigncentral.org.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2014
  28. ↑ Stitched Stories: a tale of subversive stitchers, vimeo.com. Retrieved 7 January 2014
  29. ↑ The Lush Speakeasy - Not Knowing lush.com. Retrieved 13 September 2017
  30. ↑ Sarah Corbett: Activism needs Introverts ted.com. Retrieved 23 November 2017
  31. ↑ Corbett, Sarah (2017). How To Be A Craftivist. Unbound.
  32. ↑ Corbett, Sarah (2021). Canary Craftivists Manual. Self-published.
  33. ↑ Corbett, Sarah (2024). Craftivist Collective Handbook. Unbound.
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