Making change: Daniel Fountain on how craft can power queer protest

12 June 2023

The art historian and author explains why LGBTQ+ activists have long harnessed the craft of making to tell their stories

Isabella Smith

12 June 2023

Work from the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt project. Photo: Simon Denton

What inspired you to write Crafted with Pride: Queer Craft and Activism in Contemporary Britain?

We’ve seen craft being central to activist causes during the pandemic, particularly in the Black Lives Matter and Black Trans Lives Matter movements. It has been there in protests throughout history, in zines, handmade banners, badges and slogan T-shirts – think of the Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners banners, for instance, from the mid 1980s. There’s been considerable research into this subject in North America, but almost nothing in the UK – despite what seems like genuine interest from the public.

Which stories in the book have lingered most in your mind?

It has to be the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt, which is a British version of the famous Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in the United States (see Crafts no. 285 – available for free to Crafts members via Exact Editions). It’s dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS. People create panels to commemorate a loved one, often incorporating items of clothing or photographs, which then become part of a huge quilt. Individual panels are six feet by three feet: the average size of a human grave. When seeing it all together, you realise the sheer scale of loss.

The other is a collection: the Museum of Transology, at the Bishopsgate Institute in London. It’s made up of objects donated by trans, non-binary, intersex and gender nonconforming people. It includes items like the knitted ‘Moorhen Packer’ – a packer being an object stuffed into trousers to create the illusion of a bulge. A label written by the donor reads: ‘Started off plumper but got squashed with use!’ It’s a reminder that, for LGBTQ+ people, craft can be an essential survival tactic.

The Only Revolution This World Has Ever Seen is the Little Man Against the Bigger Man, But They’re All Mens to Me, a hand-knitted wool sweater by Ellen Lesperance. Photo: Eva Herzog

How do you feel about the term ‘craftivism’?

When I came to write the book, I thought that would be central. But it became clear that much of the existing literature around craftivism is focused specifically on feminist activism – which is really important, obviously, but sometimes lacks an intersectional approach.

I wanted to tell these stories through multiple perspectives, through a range of different voices and formats. The book contains essays, oral histories and interviews. I don’t want it to be a neat answer to what queer craft looks like, or what the role of activism is, but rather show the multiplicity of it all.

I don’t want [the book] to be a neat answer to what queer craft looks like, but rather show the multiplicity of it.

What’s the role of expertise in this kind of craft?

When you say the word ‘craft’, it comes with associations of skill. But for activists, it isn’t necessarily about creating a polished final product. The objects in this collection aren’t intended to be static: they’re activated through use, by being carried through the streets or worn in public.

Most people think activism has to be very loud and in-your-face. But equally it can be the slogan on a T-shirt you wear, or a craft workshop where you discuss your experiences – as in the Queer Craft Clubs that have popped up in several cities. Activism can be about crafting something together. There’s a sense of urgency that a lot of these objects have – born fast from the necessity to say something. It’s the democratisation of craft.

Sarah Joy Ford's digitally embroidered Dyes for Trans Rights banner, hand embellished with beads and sequins. Photo: courtesy of the artist

Understandably, many of the crafts you feature lend themselves to text-based designs – quilting, screen printing and embroidery. I notice there are few hard mediums, like metal or glass. Why is that?

The book does feature some – Matt Smith, for example, makes ceramic sculpture – but you’re right in general. If you want to craft something to foster social change, you may not have access to a blacksmith’s forge, a jewellery workshop or a glassblowing studio. The materials and processes featured are more immediate and democratic: anyone can have a go, without needing expensive equipment.

My next book, Queer Crafts, which will be out in 2026, will be a broader exploration. Each chapter will revolve around specific materials and practices: textiles, ceramics, glass, paper, wood, metal and more.

What do you hope people will take from reading Crafted with Pride?

I hope it opens up conversations and brings this material to new audiences, and that they might be inspired to craft themselves. I hope people will feel represented in some way or find something that makes them feel seen and valued.

'Crafted With Pride: Queer Craft and Activism in Contemporary Britain’ by Daniel Fountain is published by Intellect and University of Chicago Press.

This story first appeared in the Spring/Summer 2023 issue of Crafts

Making change: Daniel Fountain on how craft can power queer protest

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