Craftivism & Creative Practice

Craftivism treats making as a form of activism: the object itself becomes the argument, the evidence, and the invitation to look closer. At Red Thread, creative practice sits at the center of how we bring arts-based, people-centred processes to social and environmental justice.

In Chile, women stitched arpilleras out of remnants of clothing to record what dictatorship made unsayable: breadlines, missing family members, and clandestine resistance. In South Africa, testimony has long found its way into fabric, verse, and prose when official records left too much out. That dual lineage is where Red Thread’s craft practice lives.

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The Arpillera Tradition

Textile art and needlecraft provide an accessible, tactile medium for expressing lived experiences that resist conventional discourse:

• Cloth as Testimony: Fabric scraps, paint, and needlework allow individuals and groups to narrate complex memories, social inequalities, and personal journeys.
• Accessible to All: No prior sewing or artistic experience is needed. The focus is entirely on expression, storytelling, and truth-telling rather than formal technical perfection.
• Physical Artefacts of Truth: Completed works serve as enduring records of community testimony that can be displayed, published, or gifted to catalyse wider dialogue.

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Creative Writing Circles

Writing has run through Barbara Schreiner’s life for decades — as author of published novels, poems, and a biography, as playwright, and as editor and editorial chair of Calabash, South Africa’s national writers’ magazine.

• Unlocking Silenced Voices: Guided exercises designed to help participants move beyond self-censorship, perfectionism, and fear of judgement.
• Collective Writing & Sharing Circles: Safe, facilitated group spaces where lived experiences are voiced, witnessed, and honoured by peers.
• From Reflection to Publication: Working with individuals, community groups, and organisations to compile, edit, and publish their stories or works of fiction.

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Workshop Formats & Engagements

Red Thread facilitates creative workshops for community groups, healing collectives, NGOs, educational institutions, and activist networks:

• Half-Day Intensive Storytelling: A once-off session focusing on personal reflection through textile or writing prompts.
• Multi-Session Workshops: Immersive group projects running over several weeks, culminating in individual or collaborative textile pieces documenting individual or shared struggles or stories.
• Curated Exhibitions & Dialogue: Supporting groups to exhibit their completed textile testimonies publicly, accompanied by facilitated community conversations on justice, dignity, and change.