Selvedge 112: Wonder
colonial powers, who suffered the barbaric practice of enslavement, cruel segregationist policies and institutionalized racism but are now emancipated, self-confident, and taking centre stage. These makers previously excluded from the European canon are embracing ancestral knowledge, regional materials, and craft practices, transforming them into sustainable practices born out of a desire for a future based on social justice. In this issue, Annebella Pollen describes Sonya Clark’s unravelling of the Confederate Battle flag as a symbolic dismantling of white supremacy. African fashion designers Daniel Olantunji and Imane Ayissi reimagine local materials and ancestral techniques to fashion garments that demonstrate craft skills long dismissed in Europe. Their energy and creativity are driving global society.
The tourism industry in India acknowledges a comprehensive view of culture, free from the class constraints that limit our vision in the UK. Unlike the UK, India has ratified the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, a point Jane Audas underlines in her review of Making Mischief at Compton Verney.