News
The #wellMAKING Craftivists Garden is asking people from across the UK to knit, crochet and hand-embroider flowers while reflecting on the importance of wellbeing and what we need in order to flourish as individuals and as a society. Craft makers are urged to add their skills – and their thoughts – to this new project that will show how craft activities can improve wellbeing by involving participants in the fun, connected, sensory and mindful process of making things.
These flowers will be gathered into a colourful garden installation, which will be unveiled at a celebratory event to be held in January 2015, to which all participants will be invited.
There will also be a virtual garden map thanks to an app that allows participants to upload photos of their work, as well as gathering data via a series of though-provoking questions about what wellbeing is and how craft can contribute to it.
The #wellMAKING Craftivists Garden, which launched officially on 16 July, is a collaboration between the Craftivist Collective, Falmouth University, Voluntary Arts and Arts for Health Cornwall & Isles of Scilly, and is a Connected Communities project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
To find out how to take part, watch the video below, and then visit http://craftivist-collective.com/wellmaking.
Sarah Corbett, founder of Craftivist Collective, says: “We’re doing this because we’ve seen so much evidence to show that craft helps people’s wellbeing, and we believe it is also a beautiful tool for us to reflect on how we can improve the wellbeing of those around us in our communities and in society. Craft is a lovely way to keep us optimistic and striving for better things.”
Daniel Carpenter, Coordinator at Voluntary Arts, says, “Craft is more than just a pastime or an excuse to get together – it provides both a shared space and a common language with which to locate ourselves within society and come to terms with the challenges that face us. We are delighted to be a partner in project, both to demonstrate the wellbeing benefits of craft activities to those who are yet to experience them, and to explore how online platforms are changing the way in which we think about creative communities.”
