arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Revolutionary Knitting Circle
Call to Action:
Global Knit-In

The G8 claims to be a gathering of democratic leaders. The Revolutionary Knitting Circle proclaims that they are anything but. The G8 is a meeting of the wealthiest of the world to decide the fates of the vast majority of the world who are in no way represented by these 'leaders'.

We call upon activists throughout the world to join together in a Global Knit-In to challenge the G8 and the global corporatism it stands for.

Our primary day of action will be Wednesday, June 26, 2002.

On that day, we ask you to organize a group of knitters and learners to knit (or some other subsistence-related productive activity) at one of the seats of corporate power in your communities. Transform those spaces through knitting. Create 'soft' barriers of knitted yarn to reclaim spaces from the elite to the common good. As the community is knitted together, corporate commerce is slowed or halted and the community can prosper.

We will also be doing a mass knitting action at a location outside the G8 meeting (specific location to be determined based on the development of security and access at the meetings, but we will not be going into any environmentally sensitive areas). We will show the G8 what we want through our people- and community-driven production. We will knit and quilt clothing, blankets and other delightful creations. We will share the skills of production with each other. We will engage people of diverse ages, genders, classes and other identities in this peaceful reclaiming of our own subsistence.

On the subsequent days of the G8 meeting (June 27-28) we will join with other activist protests, marches, conferences, etc. - but always with our knitting in hand!

As with all mass events, we look to this as an opportunity to connect people and educate - but the real work of challenging corporatism must go on every day of the year. We encourage you to take the lessons that will be learned through these actions and expand on them in the months and years that follow.

There's a story told about a peace group who spent a day knitting at the corners of a big city intersection. At the height of rush-hour, the knitters worked their magic - casting a giant knitted net over the intersection, halting the automotive traffic - to protect that space for the community.

More Info
RKC G8 website
E-mail: knitting@activist.ca

For some prelimanary information the G8 summit is being held in Kananaskis, Alberta in Canada in June, 2002