About the tour

The definition of craft in this tour probably varies from that of most people.

The tour’s guide Casey sees craft as making stuff, making change, and being active rather than passive – it’s quite broad.

The story of handicrafts made by unexpected hands has been exploited to the point where the image of craft is changing.

The story of young people crafting unusual things is no longer surprising and doesn’t have the impact it might have a year ago.

This tour does not rehash this story but takes a different angle – with the resurgence of craft as a starting point to explore the motivations behind and outcomes of crafting and activism by young women.

Specifically, that while many young women are crafting and being active, they are producing passive benign fluff.

This audio tour meets with women who don’t want to keep things nice.

The tour goes for 20 minutes.

Listen now or download for later

Download audio file (peoples-tour-radical-craft-tour.mp3)

Download Casey Jenkin’s Tour of Radical Craft (file size: 14 mg)
Windows: Right-click “Save target as” Mac: Ctrl-click “Save link as”

Your tour guide, Casey Jenkins

Casey Jenkins, co-founder of craftivist group Melbourne Craft Cartel, was born on a boat moored on the Yarra and has been floating around Melbourne ever since.

A writer and schemer, she has been responsible for such pranks as auctioning Howard’s integrity on eBay (pulled for being non-existent), spreading lady-love with crafted female genitalia fling-ups and producing events such as Trashbag Rehab (radical craft workshops), Blasphemy by Candlelight (festive season fun for agnostics & atheists), Abort! Abort! Abort! (kids robot construction event) and Art Jam (free for all art orgy).

Casey has used handicrafts in projects primarily for pragmatic reasons rather than for any great love of crochet – the dowdy image of handicrafts when juxtaposed with politics has made an arresting image which has drawn the attention of the media by default to whatever cause she is trying to highlight.

Credits

This tour was produced, recorded and edited by Nicole Hurtubise. All photography by Nicole Hurtubise.

This tour was done in partnership with Community Radio 3CR and funded by the City of Yarra.

The economic depression of the 1930s saw thousands of Melburnians thrown out of their homes and into the streets.

However, these actions did not go unopposed, as across the city pickets, occupations and protests were organised to disrupt and prevent evictions and auctions.

This walking tour visits the sites of some of Melbourne’s fiercest anti-eviction battles in the northern Melbourne suburb of Brunswick.

Listen now or download for later

Download audio file (Iain-McIntyre-Lock-out-the-landlords-PeoplesTour.mp3)

This tour has six stops and is 20 minutes long. Download the file here (14 mg).

Your tour guide Iain McIntyre

Iain is an author, radio presenter and musician who has contributed to a number of publications including Rolling Stone, Chain Reaction and The Big Issue about Australian and international music, history and popular culture.

He has edited Tomorrow Is Today: Australia In The Psychedelic Era, 1966-70 for Wakefield Press, self published a book on the AIDEX ’91 anti-arms fairs protest and contributed radical dates to Community Radio 3CR’s 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Seeds Of Dissent calendars.

Iain’s latest book is How to Make Trouble and Influence People, published by Breakdown Press in October 2009. It reveals Australia’s radical past through tales of Indigenous resistance, convict revolts and escapes, picket line hi-jinks, student occupations, creative direct action, media pranks, urban interventions, squatting, blockades, banner drops, street theatre and billboard liberation. It includes stories and anecdotes, interviews with pranksters and troublemakers, and 300 spectacular photos documenting the vital history of creative resistance in this country.

Getting there

See a larger Google map

Public transport

• Train: catch the Upfield line to Jewell Station and walk north to Dawson Street. At Dawson Street turn right, walk past Brunswick Library. The Town Hall is on the corner of Dawson Street and Sydney Road.
• Tram: catch the 19 Coburg tram from the City, get off at Brunswick Town Hall.

Car

• Public parking opposite Brunswick City Baths on Dawson Street, turn left off Sydney Road.

Bike

• Take the Upfield bike path and at Dawson Street, turn right. Bike parking in front of Brunswick Town Hall.

Credits

This tour was recorded and edited by Nicole Hurtubise, produced by Community Radio 3CR and funded by the Office of Public Records Local History grant program.

2009 Melbourne Fringe Festival event

We were proud to be part of Melbourne Fringe Festival. Check out the photos on Flickr of the Fringe Festival walking tour on Sunday 11 October 2009, led by Iain McIntyre and Margaret West.