Craftivism Art Exhibition

As part of the Wild for Water campaign

What craft can you submit? (#what-can-you-submit)

When can you submit? (#when-can-you-submit)

Everyone is invited to submit something otterly creative to our Craftivism Art Exhibition

Our Craftivism Art Exhibition is part of the Wild for Water campaign run by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. This campaign is about water pollution and water quality across Warwickshire, Coventry, and Solihull. From April 2025 to April 2026, we will be hosting a variety of events, talks, activities, volunteer opportunities, and much more to help illustrate the importance of clean water for both people and wildlife. For more information about the campaign's 3 aims and other activities to get involved with, head to our Wild for Water campaign webpage.

This exhibition is a chance for everyone to share their love and concerns for water in a creative way. Whether you have 5 minutes or 5 hours, never picked up a paintbrush before or often find yourself buried in a mountain of wool, our exhibition is open to all.

Graphic of text saying 'craftivism art exhibition' with a ladybird, snail, bee, butterfly, and basket of knitting yarn

Graphic of sewing kit with scissors, thread, and sewing pins

What is craftivism?

Craftivism is a beautiful blend of craft and activism. At Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, we take an approach to campaigning rooted in craftivism to bring about change for nature and wildlife. This method is inspired from the Craftivist Collective founded by Sarah P Corbett, an award-winning activist, that is purposefully non-aggressive and aims to "change hearts, minds, policies and laws through thoughtful and compassionate actions, intending to invite reflection and respectful conversation rather than division" (Sarah P Corbett - Forbes Magazine 2020.)

Craftivism can take many forms, interpretations and levels of experience. From embroidery to painting, writing to printing, poetry to crochet, baking to pottery, woodwork to graphic design, there are so many opportunities for everyone to get involved. You don't have to have experience or skill, but a willingness to get creative, slow down, and possibly make a few mistakes along the way.

#what-can-you-submit

Graphic of a camera with a photo being printed

What craft can you submit?

Honestly, this is open-ended. We have compiled a list below of suggested crafts that you can submit to the craftivism art exhibition. However, you may have a craft that isn't listed and we would love to see a range of crafts represented. If you are unsure, please email campaigns@wkwt.org.uk with your idea, and we can talk about it

Click here to see a list of crafts for inspiration

Graphic of a booklet with two drawings (sunflowers and a blue sky) with 3 coloured pencils in front

Basket weaving
Beadwork
Blacksmithing
Block printing
Button making
Calligraphy
Candle making
Crochet
Découpage
Drawing
Dyeing
Embroidery
Engraving
Felting
Furniture making
Glasswork
Graphic design
Hat making
Jewellery making
Knitting
Letterpress
Letterwriting
Lithography
Lino printing
Macramé
Origami
Painting
Papermaking
Patchwork and quilting
Poetry
Screen printing
Sign writing
Sewing
Upholstery and soft furnishing
Weaving
Woodwork

Graphic of a bottle of water with the word 'water' on the label

What is the theme of submissions?

As this exhibition is part of the Wild for Water campaign, submissions must address one or both of these briefs:

Your love for water

This could be, for example, a fond memory of playing in your local stream during your childhood, your beloved water-based hobby like paddleboarding or fishing, your favourite wildlife seen in or around water like a kingfisher or dragonfly.

Your concern for water

This could be, for example, a worry about the current situation of our waterways, certain pollutants in water, comment on the political climate, and more.

#when-can-you-submit

Graphic of buttons that are different sizes, design, and colour

When can you submit?

Submissions for the exhibition open on Tuesday 8th April 2025 and will run for 11 months until Monday 9th March 2026. The exhibition will launch in April 2026 to summarise the Wild for Water campaign.

During the campaign period (April 2025-April 2026) we may hold mini exhibitions when there are enough submissions to showcase. We'd rather your awesome artwork was displayed than stored in a cupboard until the end of the campaign!

We will be hosting a range of craftivism events for you to create something to submit to this exhibition. From paint & sips to rock painting to embroidery workshops, check out our Events page for current opportunities.

#how-can-you-submit

How can you submit?

Step one: Create your craftivism submission

Step two: Take a moment to appreciate your creation

Step three: Complete this form

Step four: Choose one of these four ways to submit your craft pieces:

Via email (please email campaigns@wkwt.org.uk with a photo(s) of your submission.)
Via WeTransfer (for large files, use https://wetransfer.com/ )
Via dropping off in-person (please drop your craft to one of our visitor centre receptions and let staff know it's for this exhibition - Brandon Marsh in Coventry and Parkridge in Solihull.)
Via one of our craftivism event (if you have attended one of our in-person craftivism events and are completing this form to accompany physically giving WWT staff your item for submission.)