As climate change, war, social injustice, gender and racial inequality, unchecked technology and exploitative capitalism remain urgent issues, the worldwide craft community has responded in notable ways. In this follow-up to Craft is Political (Bloomsbury, 2021), D Wood and contributors demonstrate how global circumstances have given rise to additional craft scholarship that further interrogates the political agency of craft. With extensive global focus, this book features twenty-two essays on craft and politics that transcend the familiar Euro-American canon and demonstrate change through craft. Particular attention is brought to the Global South with authors writing about Brazil, Chile, India, Laos, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria and Thailand.
Chapters look at the erasure of Moroccan women weavers’ stories and digital archiving of Black craftspeople in the USA. They explore pottery and eel pots critical to the identity of Virginian Indian tribes, and women’s roles in Nigeria as depicted in ceramic art. One author reveals the revival of traditional practices in Laos, and another the increasing recognition of previously-maligned Sami people of Sweden. Essays also explore craft sustainment in Finland, hand loom weaving in colonial north India, women’s craft organizations in Northern Ireland and an Australian textile artist’s exhibition devoted to climate change grief. Craft by LGBTQ artists from Malaysia and Canada is included. The mix of essays is topical, enlightening and intended to be provocative of the political agency of craft.
Edited by:
D Wood (Independent Scholar Canada)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781350433205
ISBN 10: 1350433209
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 16 October 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
List of Figures Acknowledgements 1. Introduction – Times Achangin’, D Wood (Independent Scholar) Part I: Crafting Identity 2. Stitching resistance: The Ukrainian Vyshyvanka, Katya Zabelski (Independent Scholar, UK) 3. The Politics of Maria Vinka’s Sa´mi Heritage Within IKEA's Commodities: Neocolonial Craft or Global Imaginary? Ezra Shales (Massachusetts College of Art and Design, USA) 4. The Politics of Archives: Documenting Black Craftspeople in Labour and Liberation, Tiffany Momon (Sewanee: The University of the South, USA) 5. The Irish Agricultural Organisation Society’s Home Industries Societies: Community Craft, Co-operative Ideals and Cultural Nationalism, Molly-Claire Gillett (University of Galway, Ireland) 6. Coming Out: Exhibiting Queer Craft, Denis Longchamps (Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Canada) Part II: Community Craft 7. The Political Fabric of Amazigh Rugs, Dina Benbrahim (University of Connecticut, USA) 8. Craft in Laos: From Royal to Socialist Sponsorship, Linda S. McIntosh (Independent Curator, USA) 9. The Convoluted Politics of Handloom Weaving and Weavers in Colonial North India, Santosh Kumar Rai (University of Delhi, India) 10. Masked to Be Seen. Clothing, Craft and Politics in the Feminist Red Balaclava in Chile, 2018-2020, Tamara Poblete (Royal College of Art, UK) 11. The Separation of Art from Craft in 20th Century Thailand: An Introduction, Adulaya Hoontrakul (Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan) Part III: Craft Practice 12. Civil Rights Shaped in Silver: The Politics of Jewellery and the Black Body, Sebastian Grant (Parsons School of Design, USA) 13. Craft as a Tool for Individual and Collective Empowerment: A Japanese Woman Ceramicist in a Rural Brazilian Town, Liliana Morais (Rikkyo University, Japan) 14. Crisis, Craft, Origins and Their Confluence in Omar Musa’s Poetry of Identity, Kevin Brophy (University of Melbourne, Australia) 15. Generational Baton: Virtuous Women, Ngozi Omeje (University of Nigeria, Nigeria) 16. A Queer Narrative: The Batik Paintings of Patrick Ng Kah Onn, Simon Soon (University of Melbourne, Australia) 17. Future Traditions: Finding Survivable Futures Through Textiles, Sera Waters (Adelaide Central School of Art, Australia) Part IV: Futuring Craft 18. Crafting the Living Cultural Heritage in Finland, Sirpa Kokko (University of Eastern Finland, Finland) 19. Craft, Authenticity, and Strategic Essentialism in Virginia Indian Communities, D. Brad Hatch (Independent Scholar, USA) 20. Exile from the Forest: Finding Relevance for Craft in a ‘Post-Natural’ World, Ishan Khosla (UPES Dehradun, India) 21 Fogo Island: Getting it Together, D Wood (Independent Scholar) 22. Craft Labour, Entrepreneurialism and Social Class in Contemporary Australia, Jesse Adams Stein (University of Technology Sydney, Australia) Author Biographies Index
D Wood is an independent craft and design scholar and currently teaches at OCAD University, Canada. Wood earned a PhD in Design Studies in 2012 at the University of Orago, New Zealand, and has an MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design, USA. Her profiles of craft practitioners and reviews of exhibitions and books have appeared in an international array of publications, including American Craft, Ceramic Review, Fiberarts, Fine Woodworking, Metalsmith, Neues Glas and Textile Forum. She is also the editor of, and contributor to, Craft is Political (Bloomsbury, 2021).
Reviews for The Politics of Global Craft
The Politics of Global Craft is a compelling read. The chapters are informative and highlight the significance of craft in both local and global contexts. Perspectives from Black, LGBTQ, and non-Western scholars adds depth and diversity to the discourse surrounding craft practices. * Juliette Macdonald, Chair of Craft History and Theory, University of Edinburgh, UK *
