Two weeks ago, a friend texted me on Instagram about an event happening at UVic called “Crafternoons”. Mel, an undergrad in UVic’s English department, in collaboration with English professors, started this club during COVID and has engaged with this movement ever since.
Weekly, the English department provides a space for individuals interested in arts and crafts to get together. Whatever creativity means to you, from crochet and knitting to painting and drawing, take a break from the stresses of school and connect with like-minded students. They meet every Thursday from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. in CLE C344. You can pop by at any time and stay as long as you want!
I went there for the first time on Oct. 2, and the vibes in that room were some of the most positive energy I have ever felt. I finished doing an Earth and Ocean Science midterm before it, and I thought that the best way to decompress and relax was by working on my current crochet project (a lily of the valley, thank you for asking).
How did it start?
The crafternoons were co-founded by Elizabeth Mary Kingsley (UVic professor), Andrea Korda (Art historian at the University of Alberta), and Vanessa Warne (literary critic and disability studies scholar at the University of Manitoba) in the summer of 2020. Because they could not attend the Victorian Studies Association of Western Canada annual conference due to the pandemic, they started meeting monthly over Zoom throughout the academic year for a series on Victorian material and craft cultures. What did they do in these Zoom meetings? Five colleagues were invited to choose a single 19th-century object and talk for around five minutes about it. The attendees had the chance to ask questions and learn more about these objects.
What started as a simple Zoom get-together became a movement that expanded to other universities besides UVic. In 2020, right during COVID, by accident, one of the attendees called these meetings “Crafternoons”, as they were held in the afternoon. And that is how the name for this was born. They now use these terms to describe their drop-in sessions. What you can do if you want to drop by is knitting, crocheting (like me!), sewing, and many other crafts. And if you want to check out what they have been working on lately, go to their website, “Crafting Communities,” and Instagram account.
Is anything new going on?
Yes! The English department will be introducing Crafternoons on the Road, where participants will be able to meet in different locations on campus, trying new crafts.
Do you recommend going?
Do I have to answer the question?… Yes! Please do! It can be challenging to balance school, work, and a personal life, so it’s comforting to know I have a place to rewind and make arts and crafts.
