A timely and original exploration of the politics and political implications of craft.

Throughout the 21st century, various craft practices have drawn the attention of academics and the general public in the West. In Craft is Political, D Wood has gathered a collection of essays to argue that this attention is a direct response to and critique of the particular economic, social and technological contexts in which we live. Just as Ruskin and Morris viewed craft and its ethos in the 1800s as a kind of political opposition to the Industrial Revolution, Wood and her authors contend that current craft activities are politically saturated when perspectives from the Global South, Indigenous ideology and even Western government policy are examined. Craft is Political argues that a holistic perspective on craft, in light of colonialism, post-colonialism, critical race theory and globalisation, is overdue. A great diversity of case studies is included, from craft and design in Turkey and craft markets in New Zealand to Indigenous practitioners in Taiwan and Finnish craft education. Craft is Political brings together authors from a variety of disciplines and nations to consider politicised craft.

"Craft is Political is craft with teeth bared. No hiding behind the trappings of commercial viability or neutrality in trying to fit in the space between fine art and hobby crafts. The global context of the book is a feat. The book is unapologetically political, words and work honed to a fine point, a needle whose eye the authors expertly thread. A collection of 16 essays and authors from across craft disciplines, the book itself is deceptively small, for all its dense ideas, compact into a slim volume. The text is foliage that catches our eye, and we must follow to the roots, the notes, for further reading." - Studio Magazine