Feminist Craft Seminar at Estonian Academy of Arts Explores Material Resistance

A public seminar titled 'Arts, Crafts, Affects: Documenting HerStories and Worldbuilding' was held at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn on November 25-26, 2022. Organized by art historians Margaret Tali and Ulrike Gerhardt, the event examined how contemporary feminist artists strategically employ craft techniques. Three artists presented distinct approaches: Mare Tralla uses crocheted objects in market projects to critique capitalism; Katrin Mayer creates ephemeral installations about textile industry histories; and the collaborative #FramedinBelarus project, led by Rufina Bazlova and Sofia Tocar, embroiders stories of political prisoners in Belarus to foster international solidarity. The seminar positioned craft as a form of 'weak resistance'—a humble, sustainable practice that enables feminist world-building. Discussions connected craft to queer utopianism, ancestral knowledge transmission, and critiques of surveillance capitalism. References included scholars like Jenny Sorkin, José Esteban Muñoz, and Ewa Majewska, alongside historical examples from Judy Chicago's 'The Dinner Party' to textile artists in socialist Poland. The event highlighted craft's capacity for documenting gendered experiences and building alternative communities.