Feisty fabrics: Women's education, learning and activism through fabric arts in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

This article shares the findings of an international study of 28 fabric arts projects by individual, pairs or groups of women in British Columbia and Ontario in Canada and the north island of Aotearoa New Zealand. Using a feminist approach and lens we explored women's views of their fabric arts work. Our study shows that women's fabric arts/crafts provide important spaces for reflection, contemplation and individual and social learning. In both countries women demonstrated a passion for the process of creation, expressiveness and the artworks themselves, although many tended to undervalue their talent as artists. Two key differences emerged: external and internal censorship of the fabric arts; and the collective public nature of the work in Canada versus the individual approach of the women of Aotearoa New Zealand. The findings contribute to contemporary debates in feminist adult education and to feminist aesthetic theory by emphasising the importance of activist fabric arts in learning for social justice.