Becky Striepe
Urban beautification can have meanings big and small. These are some of my favorite craftivist projects focused on making urban spaces a little kinder.
The projects below run the gamut from adding some softness or green to urban spaces to brightening the day of a single person. No matter how you slice it, though, these urban beautification projects add some love and whimsy to city life!
8 Crafty Examples of Urban Beautification
1. NCAA Net Works – New Craft Artists in Action is replacing broken basketball hoops in urban areas with handmade, colorful nets that work. Want to get involved? They’re always looking for new participants! [photos via NCAA]
2. Inceptigram – I’ll be honest with you guys: this is not the only yarn-bomb on this list. Inceptigram is London Kaye Crochet’s recent installation on the Brooklyn Bridge, and it’s hilarious and powerful all at once. [photo via London Kaye Crochet]
3. Seed Bombs – Crafters all over the world are mixing up seed bombs using native seeds and tossing them into abandoned lots or other blighted urban corners. [flower image via Shutterstock]
4. Knit Graffiti – Yarn bombing is sort of the classic example of crafty urban beautification. Boring bike racks, telephone poles, and street signs get a pop of color. [photo by Rhonda Winter]
5. Crochet Playgrounds – Artist Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam creates gorgeous crochet installations where kids can play. [photo via Colossal]
6. Lionel Stitchie – Artist Molly Evans turned end-of-semester waste into something meaningful and whimsical by adding Lionel Ritchie lyrics to abandoned furniture. [photo by Molly Evans]
7. Guerrilla Kindness Project – Sayraphim Lothian is a craftivism superstar, and her Guerrilla Kindness project is bringing beauty to city streets, one little installation at a time. Her newest project is called Lucky Street, and it debut this June in Sydney. [photo by Sayraphim Lothian]
8. For You Stranger – This is another of Lothian’s projects, and it’s all about bringing a little kindness into someone’s day. She leaves faux cupcakes with a gift tag on them that reads, “For you, stranger.” [photo by Sayraphim Lothian]
