Ms Daisy Bow du Toit

Research project: The Craft of Content Creation

Abstract

I'm investigating the relationship between the current craft revival and the growth of digital technology such as smartphones and social media. Entrenched craft concepts are challenged, such as the significance of the haptic and the body in craft learning, the boundary between amateur and professional practice, and the role of pre-digital systems such as higher education, apprenticeships, galleries and publishing. Additionally, Covid-19 Pandemic lockdown saw a wave of homebound makers, turning towards online resources to learn crafts for both pleasure and necessity. Web 2.0 opened up the Western creative economy to a diverse range of crafters, building communities that bridge different identities and geographies - shaping what is produced, how it's mediated, and who produces and purchases it, in ways that challenge concepts of amateur and the professional and enabled diverse crafters to enter the white, male dominated creative economy. I'll define what constitutes craft community membership, and explore the role of new identities - such as craft influencers and craftivists. The craft economy is recognised as key to the fast-growing creative industries, yet formal craft education is in crisis.