Sewing craft meets activism – try your hand at a bit of quiet activism at the Big Green Fair.

Sew some words onto cockles and leave them in walls and windowsills for a passerby to stop and read and change how they think or feel about something. Flags adorned with words of encouragement to remind a person of power they could do better. Craftivism is designed to gently and playfully encourage the type of change activism strives for without the aggression and confrontation. Many of us out there are introverts and easily worn out by typical activism, but what we lack in noise we make up for in observation, thoughtful insight and ideas. Through sewing, you can explore these ideas with others without confrontation, you needn’t even make eye contact, and you can talk as much or as little as you feel. Soft Noise Stitching provides a space for people of all volumes to gently encourage change.

There will be examples of craftivism on display by the Craftivism group that you will be able to try your hand at including: soft pots, soft letters, badges, pebbles, refill bags, as well as soft sculpture – part of 100 Excesses by Sarah Gomes Harris and the Hastings community of stitchers – a soft installation made of 100 wave cushions stitched with various excesses in our lives to demonstrate the accumulation of what we consume and it’s direct effect on rising temperatures and sea levels