Guerilla Knitting as Political Statement: Creative Activism, Peaceful Protest and Urban Beautification

The guerrilla knitting represents a worldwide social movement predominantly made up by young women. It can be interpreted as a way to realize a silent protest and draw attention towards some urban problems, combining together the political dimension with the artistic one. Collective actions organized by knit activists always have a positive connotation and aim to enhance and beautify public spaces. In this contribution we focus on a particular guerrilla project realized in L’Aquila (Italy) three years after the 2009 earthquake. In order to understand how the movement structures itself in the interplay between the online and offline dimension, we conducted 1) non-participant observation of the collective action; 2) qualitative content analysis of online content produced by activists; 3) semi-structured interviews with local organizers. The findings highlight how through the knit art it is possible to convey a very meaningful political message, reclaiming the city’s reconstruction.