Example, Chernobyl, and All Things Nuclear.

A lesson from this evening on nuclear things and why creativity paired with activism is powerful:

Today I was listening to a song by Example, and was curious about the rapper himself, so as one does, I Googled him. I was fascinated to learn that while filming the video for his song “What We Made” in Chernobyl, he made a short documentary on what Chernobyl is like today.

After watching both of the videos (posted below), I was glad to see an artist take something real, like Chernobyl, learn about it, and then educate others. He wasn’t making up a fake feud or talking about making tons of money, he just wrote a song about the damage we can do to our planet and documented his visit to one of the most toxic places on earth. Taking something you care about and using your creativity to get your feelings across is where craftivism lies. Voicing your opinions and frustrations and anger, in a non-traditional way is what gets people thinking and processing and then, hopefully, understanding and learning.




How does talking about something that happened 23 years ago help us now? What is the relationship between nuclear power and nuclear weapons? What does this have to do with craftivism?

From the BeyondNuclear.org website: “The continued insistence on supplying the technology, materials and know-how for civilian nuclear programs perpetuates the danger that nuclear weapons may also be developed – with speculation over Iran a case in point.” … “It makes no sense to demand, on the one hand, that nuclear weapons states eliminate their arsenals while, on the other hand, offering nuclear energy as a reward to countries that promise not to develop nuclear weapons.”

Craftivism exists and evolves in the space between what happened and what is happening. It’s about keeping on eye on the media and conversations and your thoughts and then weaving them into your creative output. It’s about how our past has shaped our present and how our present can shape our future. Keep questioning, keep learning, keep making.


Random things I learned today about nuclear-related things:
*The countries that have nuclear weapons are “sometimes called the nuclear club.”
*Nuclear winter is not as cool as it sounds.
*A nuclear winter is different from a volcanic winter, also not a lot of fun.
*The battle of the correct pronunciation of nuclear still wages on.
*The list of states that have nuclear weapons is here.
*There is an amazing documentary from 2003 called Chernobyl Heart, by Maryann De Leo. In 4 parts online, the documentary shows what’s happening to children born now and recently in the areas surrounding Chernobyl. You can watch the documentary here. Interestingly enough, after filming the documentary, De Leo herself tested positive for radiation poisoning.

Activism Is Not A 4-Letter Word. (Reminder)

Today’s post is a re-post of something I wrote in November 2005. If you’ve read Handmade Nation, you’ll see that I have an essay in the book with the same name. This original post was what led to the essay a few years later. I’m reposting it here because sometimes it’s good to be reminded of just where your heart lies.

Two things for today, this afternoon I’ll be on The State of Things from about 12.40 until 1EST, and tonight I’ll be talking about craftivism and the book at Barnes & Noble in Cary at 7pm.


Dictionary.com defines activism as “The use of direct, often confrontational action, such as a demonstration or strike, in opposition to or support of a cause.” This is the definition I have often been presented with the minute I mention either craftivism or activism. At the mention of these terms, some people rear up and want nothing more to do with the discussion. When such a negative definition is so commonly applied, it isn’t hard to see why feathers are ruffled by even a whisper of activism.

But my own definition of activism lies closer to this, “Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change” from Wikipedia. It continues with “The word ‘activism’ is often used synonymously with protest or dissent, but activism can stem from any number of political orientations and take a wide range of forms, from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, simply shopping ethically, rallies and street marches, direct action, or even guerilla tactics. In the more confrontational cases, an activist may be called a freedom fighter by some, and a terrorist by others, depending on which side of the political fence is making the observation.”

Activism (or craftivism) is less about a call to arms and more about a call to act for change. Although there are negative ways one can bring about change, the majority of activists I know are working for the common good, attempting to bring about illumination instead of darkness. By negating a construct and stripping it of its positive intent, the more commonly used definition only breeds fear and unwillingness when in fact every time you make a conscious choice, you are being an activist. In choosing to buy one brand of yarn instead of another due to the way it was produced or by choosing to ride your bike instead of drive, you are being an activist.

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The past two weeks I have been living in rural England on a small-scale farm. I can’t think of a time when I have been more inspired or been taught more lessons or been shown so much hope in such a short span. I have been connecting and meeting individuals who continue to farm despite all the obstacles in their paths. After all the governmental and financial restraints have been agreed to, there seems to be little reason to continue an agrarian lifestyle.

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As we send all of our textile needs to further shores where people are paid less to work more, resources that the small-scale producers have relied on since the Industrial Revolution have vanished, leaving them trying to fill in the gaps. And as it becomes more and more difficult for small-scale farmers to survive, traditions and methods are lost in the name of technology and progress.

But there is a sense of activism in the air here as people strive to continue to produce wool and fleece as they once did when all the factories where up and running and could take in small quantities of fibre to be prepared. Out of love and determination, activism is alive in its most positive sense- as individuals try and band together to keep traditional methods afloat despite myriad setbacks. In watching their strength and learning from their dedication, I am reminded again and again of why I am not ashamed to call myself an activist.

Operation W.A.N.T.

There few things that I like more than projects that bring to light the visceral raw truth of situations. It’s so easy to ignore these things happening so far away. It’s frighteningly easy to have it fade into the background news and to have it happen to other people.

That’s one of the reasons I started writing about craftivism, because I think it has the visual punch that is necessary to think about problems in new and different ways, ways that hit you in the gut and make you personalize what’s happening.

The photos above are from Operation W.A.N.T. (We Are Not Toys), when 7 members of the LA chapter of Iraq Veterans Against War placed 4,170 toy soldiers in a parking lot of a gas station on October 11th.

I especially like the fact that they used children’s toys to show just how many people (and how many families) have been changed forever thanks to the past years of conflict. And that’s just a tiny fraction of the number of individuals doing their jobs in Iraq and Afghanistan. Seeing all these little green army men lined up in a gas station parking lot (a place where we do pay attention to the numbers) hopefully personalized current events in a way that the 6 o’clock news never could.

With all the attention paid to gas station prices lately, watching them rise and rise and fall, we show that we can, indeed, pay attention to numbers. Just not when it doesn’t pertain to us.



Thanks to Rayna for the link who found it via Groundswell.

(photos: Jonas Lara)