Sixteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Knot the Gate! Keep Calm - Hug a Nanna! Never underestimate the power of a Nanna! Viva La Nannalution! These emblems and iconography have been used to build agency through the craftivism of the Knitting Nannas Against Gas and Greed (KNAG). This movement of women are synonymous with successful nonviolent anti-fracking and climate crisis protest. They present a different Australian eco-activist approach engaging older women, a group not usually visible or vocal due to both age and gender stereotyping. Using the metaphor of knitting they form ‘Loops’ – over 30 since start-up in 2012. As their name indicates, KNAG adopt the knitting (and other arts and crafts) to learn through ‘crafty’ processes and start conversations inspiring and connecting people thus contributing to social change towards transitioning away from fossil fuels. Over seven years this movement has used crafting and graphic arts as a tool for activism, informal environmental adult learning, and growing their social movement. Through data drawn from active KNAG members in Australia a range of crafted forms, memes, and iconography are discussed in order to analyse how this contributes to “Nannagogy” i.e. KNAG social movement learning processes. The relationship to feminist new materialism and the transformative power of micropolitics is considered. Part of a larger PhD research project involving gender and identity in eco-activism, the article concludes with an assessment of the Knitting Nannas use of crafting as a feminist methodology in creatively articulating feminist politics and the implications for gender and identity in social movement learning theory.