2023
Birmingham
Calling all Climate Craftivists!
If you’re a maker who uses their craft to advocate for conservation, Climate Justice or the natural world, we would love to hear from you! We are gathering a database of ‘Climate Craftivists’ for our Making for Climate Change project.
We will use this database to help find 5 artists who will be invited to work with a group of LGBTQIA+ 18 to 25 year olds to explore how they can use crafting as a tool for climate activism in their community.
Please spend five minutes filling out our form if you’re interested!
Making for Climate Change is a project connecting with young people who are LGBTQ+ and those who are D/deaf to use craftivism to address the climate challenge in their communities.
Our Truth of the Youth Residency in 2023 told us how important the climate challenge is to young people. It also told us some young people can face barriers to getting involved in social action for the environment. Through this programme we hope to give a group of young people a voice and enable them to bring about change in themselves and their communities
What will we be doing?
Over 2023-24 we will be connecting with young people who are LGBTQ+ and those who are D/deaf through a series of climate focused conversations, workshops and events. Young people will take the lead roles and we will share what we do on social media and here on the website.
Our work so far (December 2023)
We invited LGBTQ+ young people to take part in a focus group to tell us about the climate challenges that most impacted them and any barriers they faced in taking action.
They were worried about plastic overload, flooding, bush fires and wildlife decline. They talked to us about capitalism, structural inequality, poverty and greenwashing. Suggested actions included food forests, mending cafes and clothes swapping spaces. They also suggesting learning from our elders and those from other communities who have many of the answers. Barriers to getting involved included cost, climate anxiety and the fear of being visible but they also reflected on the power of the collective, the importance of anger as a tool and activism as a characteristic of Queerness.
We’ll be addressing these ideas over the next few months.
Get Involved
Want to get involved?
Contribute to our Focus Group research.
Make us a collage telling us about the climate challenges you care about and the things that stop you from taking action.
Take a picture and email it to us at [email protected] (please title your email Making for Climate Change collage) or post it to us at Craftspace, Unit 15, Highgate Craft Centre, 8 Highgate Square, Birmingham, B12 0DU
Apply to be part of the Making For Climate Change Team
Watch this space for more details.
Take part in a climate conversation
From March 2024 we will be running a series of themed creative climate conversations in Birmingham to help us explore positive action. These will be free and open to young people who are 16-25 and LGBTQ+ or D/deaf. Email us at [email protected] if you would like to join a mailing list for events.
Craftspace Youth Instagram
Follow our work on Instagram.
Making for Climate Change is funded by the Energy Saving Trust Foundation.
