Making the possible: craft as politics

From collectively created protest banners to ‘craftivism’, the physical materials we make have always had a close relationship to political movements and histories. Start your Radical Book Fair Saturday with a celebration of all things radical and craft!

In Fancy Work, Alice Hattrick offers a queer encounter with the arts and crafts movement. They are joined by maker/designer Laura Jaap - co-founder of Cross Cut Coop, a group of feminist builders. Along with artist Crystal Bennes, they explore the endless levels of politics in lives dedicated to craft, as well as the possibilities of making together and the communities that arise from it.

Our speakers:

Alice Hattrick is a writer and lecturer based in London. Ill Feelings, their non-fiction book on chronic illness, intimacy and mother-daughter relationships, was published by Fitzcarraldo Editions in 2021. Alice’s criticism has been published in Art Review, frieze, The White Review and TANK, among other publications. They are the co-producer of Access Docs for Artists, made in collaboration with Leah Clements and the late Lizzy Rose, and teach at University of the Arts, London.

Laura Jaap is a carpenter who works with locally grown Scottish timber and makes natural buildings from local materials. They are passionate about using what nature provides locally to meet our needs from housing through to crafts - foraging for food, medicine, textiles, and more. For the last three years they have been building a Crannog and Iron Age Village, at The Scottish Crannog Centre, connecting with skills of the past and upskilling the next generation of craftspeople. Their next journey is applying these ancient building skills to contemporary structures and training apprentices.

Our chair:

Crystal Bennes is an artist and writer based in Edinburgh.