Knit wit

By Julian Broadhead

By all accounts, knitting has experienced a resurgence in recent years. This fact was amply demonstrated to me at a recent Christmas party, when another guest put down his mulled wine and pulled out his latest piece of (very impressive) work, explaining that he’d made a mistake earlier in the day and wanted to correct it before he had too much to drink. Yet even this does not hint at the medium’s latest incarnations, as street art with a little bit of civil disobedience thrown in for good measure.

‘Yarn bombing’ however, is exactly that. Also known as yarn storming, knit graffiti or guerrilla knitting (evoking the spirit of guerrilla gardening), it simply involves the decoration of public space and objects with knitting ranging from leftover pieces to specially made items, depending on the target. Apart from the basic aesthetic qualities, the motivations for those involved are twofold; reclaiming cold, sterile public spaces by introducing a material with a warm and contrasting set of connotations, whilst at the same time moving knitting beyond its traditional image as the pastime of your grandmother.

The founding of the movement is credited to Magda Sayeg, who started the wonderfully named Knitta Please crew in Austin, Texas back in 2005. Since then, numbers have proliferated around the world in crews sporting equally witty names (‘Stitch and Bitch’ is a personal favourite), and a book has even been written, entitled the ‘Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti’.

Not only does yarn bombing reclaim and enhance our public spaces, the physical alteration is only temporary and in a medium widely recognised as a craft, which means it has none of the stigma of traditional graffiti. This gives it the potential for both greater participation and greater acceptance, two characteristics that we at VivaCity believe should be celebrated. But while we look forward to seeing the latest bombing in our area, we’d love to hear from you about your favourite knitting crew name.

why vivacity

This is the century of the city.

Over half the world’s population now live in cities. This is projected to rise to three-quarters of all people in 2050. With population increases, this means 6.75 billion of us will be city dwellers, an increase of 3.75 billion from today. As the future success or failure of mankind lies in cities, new ways of using them are needed.

The city represents an incredible paradox. We have never been closer together physically, but we have never been further away from each other emotionally. At vivacity we celebrate city movements around the world that change and re-define the way we interact with and use cities. Whilst cities cannot cope with the numbers now and the resultant strain on the world’s natural resources and eco-systems are already painfully evident, we believe that human spirit and endeavor will overcome, as it has done before.

vivacity promotes city movements that are connecting people & creating new types of communities. They are typically low impact, highly sociable, enabled by technology, using public and private spaces in new ways and empowering people to act locally.

vivacity promotes new ways of feeling alive, new ways of being invigorated, and new things to be a part of. We call it grassroots stuff in the city. We hope you get involved and share your experiences with us.

who we are

Andy Marks vivacity founder and editor

Social entrepreneur, lecturer, writer and curator, Andy Marks is an agent of positive social change practicing at the intersection or fault-line of business, society and culture. Andy is the founder of research and consultancy network Salad Worldwide, an advisor to some of the world’s leading companies on Corporate Responsibility and an advisor to a number of non-profit organizations. Andy is an expert on grass roots city movements, and a founding partner of an upcycling enterprise launching in 2010.

Julian Broadhead contributor

With a background in advertising, branding and corporate responsibility, Julian works with blue-chip companies from a wide range of industries and sectors, advising on strategy and new ways of connecting with people. He is currently developing a number of new opportunities in the environmental sector, with a particular emphasis on making environmental action more accessible.

Shane Solanki – contributor/distributor/carburettor/carbon-ara

Artist, writer, performer, producer and director, Shane’s first short film was commissioned by the BBC and directed by Peter Cattaneo. His first record was produced by Mercury Prize Winner Talvin Singh. He worked for years to forge the unique identity of independent record label Ninja Tune. We at Vivacity like to think of him as a grass roots detective, covertly operating under the pseudonym of the Last Mango in Paris; imagine him skulking around the world in a beige macintosh, recording and documenting our shift into a society where social responsibility and public creativity are norms.

contribute

become a vivacity scout

As more and more of us live in urban areas, individuals and communities can feel overwhelmed and isolated by the sheer intense-city of it all.

However we at vivacity believe that human spirit and endeavor will overcome as it has done so many times before. That is why we are celebrating movements around the world that are changing and re-defining the way we interact with the city. We would like to hear from you about grassroots movements or activities that bring people together face to face and use cities in new ways. The more original and imaginative the better.

Please email us describing a movement you would like to see on vivacity using a maximum of 300 words. info@vivacity.me