Craft and Hardship

In this symposium, we collectively explore the interplay between craft and various forms of hardship, including isolation, poverty, displacement, mental illness, and gender-based marginalization. Today’s society is experiencing a revival of craft and recent studies associate craft work with positive social outcomes, whether at the individual, organizational, communal, or societal level. For instance, craft work is regarded as more meaningful compared to common forms of work common in modern organizations that is described as alienating or exploitative. Similarly, the revival of craft has been touted as a more optimistic path toward the preservation of human skill or local community in the face of ongoing digitalization and globalization. In spite of these, often implicit, positive assumptions about craft, we have surprisingly limited empirical work that explores the value and nature of craft work. In this symposium, we bring together four studies that consider how craft may alleviate individual and communal “hardships” and, vice versa, how the experience of hardship may influence the practice, persistence and outcomes of craft work. By exploring various forms of hardship and tackling the relationship with craft from various perspectives and levels of analysis, the symposium will aim to advance understanding of the intrinsic and practical benefits of craft organizing in society. Knitting Renaissance: Emotions in Counteracting Hardships in Socially Innovative Craft Businesses Presenter: Ines Peixoto; Aalto U. Presenter: Gloria Kutscher; Aalto U., Department of Management Studies Gendered Expectations and Artistic Innovations Presenter: Eun Young Song; U. College London Exploring the Role of Hardship in the Persistence of a Folk Craft: The Case of Koniaków Lacemaking Presenter: Monika Zebrowska; U. of Cambridge Presenter: Jochem Kroezen; U. of Cambridge Syrian Women Refugees: Transforming Identities Through Craft Work During High Uncertainty Presenter: Sophie Alkhaled; Lancaster U. Management School Presenter: Innan Sasaki; Warwick Business School