How is craft a tool for humbling and empowering humanity? : An investigation into learning, and empathy building through material relationships.

Abstract: Our value of people and craft are linked. With the rise of fast production  industry, and the lack of transparency when it comes to a role of consumption, we have become detached from making processes. This detachment is  detrimental to our understanding and empathy for other people but also to ourselves. It perpetuates disposable ways of living and keeps us reliant on  disposable consumption.  Craft is an undervalued tool which can be utilised in historical learning as well  as anthropological study today. In doing so, we are able to understand more about humanity by inspecting craft through the ‘three facet’ lens. We are then  able to develop empathy for other people and other cultures, through the non- tangible space created during the process of crafting. For those who do craft,  this recognition is empowering and enables cultural ownership. It also empowers us as individuals, when we are able to produce something ourselves  and physically see the learning process.  This means we can recognise who has made our objects, and appreciate the  time, skill and commitment which goes into the undertaking. This encourages us to appreciate objects, to consider our ways of living and move away from  disposable consumption.  Through a comparison of the relationship to craft that is held in Peru, with that  of the relationship we hold in the UK, and broadened by my experience living and teaching in Sweden, I conclude that industrialisation and colonialism has a  role to play, but ultimately, the power and potential of craft, is physically in our own hands.  I propose using the ‘three facets’; Utility, Aesthetics and Connectivity, as a way to break down the information documented through craft, to analyse, at a deep  level, what can be gained from craft appreciation.