Drawing tools for “Weaving Our Dreams” and working with children, made me think about the DIY nature of arts activism. If we have the tools then we can make art where and when we want. One tool depicted a fork, but was entitled ‘comb’, because a fork can be used adequately instead of a weaving comb, similarly the drawing for ‘loom’ was of a branch being used as a loom. Activist art has a wonderful ability to transgress boundaries be they linguistic, disciplinary, psychogeographical or spatial or any other variety. Making the Zine workshop with Asim from Hestia allowed us to critic the powers that be in a public space used by the powers that be. This has made me more determined to bring more art onto the streets, alternative and accessible venues and into the halls of power and to be more intentional about the ways in which I work and relate to the world and my community as an activist artist.
I am looking forward to helping to facilitate a Tatreez workshop, thinking about the way that Palestinian embroidery achieves some of these things, with stitches depicting things such as bombs and trees hit by missiles and protest motifs produced that reach a wide global audience.
Jill Eastland - Artist Activist 