(L-R) Rhoda Garrett around 1865, Agnes Garrett painted by Annie Swynnerton in 1885 and Mary Eliza Haweis. Background: Trellis by William Morris and Phillip Webb (1862). The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Gallery/Wiki Commons/V&A/Canva, CC BY-NC, CC BYWhen I was 21, I was encouraged to write my university dissertation on a house that I had known most of my life – Standen, built by the architect and designer Philip Webb between 1891 and 1894 in West Sussex. My uncle was the gardener there.While studying for a degree in art history, I realised that the place where my cousins and I played as children was a vital site for understanding the politics of the Arts and Crafts movement, which grew out of frustration with factory-made goods in the late 1800s.Webb used Standen to bring his socialist Arts and Crafts movement ideas to life. He focused on traditional craftsmanship, useful design and honest materials, making sure every object – from textiles to tiles – was carefully made by skilled workers. This was his antidote to the cruel capitalism and social inequality of the Industrial Revolution. If you’ve found yourself turning to craft – to make sense of things, to slow down, or just to feel more grounded – it’s worth revisiting the philosophy behind the Arts and Crafts movement.Hobbies can bring joy, wellbeing and focus to our busy lives, but so many of us don’t have one. If you’re ready to replace scrolling with stitching, or hustle with horticulture, The Hobby Starter Kit (a new series from Quarter Life) will help you get going.Webb is often described as the “father of the Arts and Crafts movement” but my work has more recently focused on three women who saw art and craft as an enfranchising act – Rhoda and Agnes Garrett and Mary Eliza Haweis. Haweis was an important art historian, artist, designer and writer, but is all-but-forgotten in the history books. As the wife of a vicar, “limited” to the home, given middle-class expectations of the role of a woman in the 1870s and 1880s, she funded her family life by writing books. Her key publications, The Art of Beauty (1878), The Art of Dress (1879) and The Art of Decoration (1881), all encouraged women to see arts and crafts as a political movement. Her words echoed those of designer William Morris, while promoting the nascent suffragette movement: “The secret of all true art is freedom, to think for ourselves, and to do as we like.” Standen is now a National Trust property. WikiCommons, CC BY-SA Crafts and politicsIn my research, I’ve been exploring how craft can offer modern people a political voice, in the same way it did the women of the Arts and Crafts movement. I connect the past, present and future in my work with young people in Leeds. Whose Power? is a project I developed with Leeds City Museum’s Preservative Party – a diverse group of 14-24-year-old curators.A key way we have worked together, led by group member Saraya, is through making zines. Saraya uses this form of crafting to help others articulate their activism. They also explore the histories of zine-making as a way for underrepresented groups to find their voice. In Leeds University Cultural Collections, for example, we have zines crafted by the Reclaim the Night movement, which started in Leeds in 1977 as part of the Women’s Liberation movement.Just as the thinkers, writers, artists and designers of the Arts and Crafts movement found a way to voice their politics of socialism and enfranchisement, the Preservative Party have used zine making to find their “craftivist” voice. For example, Tae, a young mentor for the Whose Power? project said:This project has really shown me that it is OK for me to, one, have an opinion, and two, for me to share it and that the outside world can be a safe space and I can feel safe enough to express myself … my voice does matter.Despite over 15 years of reductions in arts provision in state schools in England and creative arts and humanities courses closing in UK universities, the return of millennials and gen-Z to craft demonstrates an exciting statement of continued belief in the power of art to make a difference. It also demonstrates that, despite all the current societal challenges, the younger generations are the forward-thinking ones.A recent Sunday Times article written by former Microsoft AI boss Babith Boopalana about trying to guide his daughter on the skills and careers that “the robots” will fail to replace, concluded that the creative industries will survive and thrive. This is because they require “genuine original thought, cultural judgement and human perspective”. All of the skills that arts and crafts develop. The philosophy of the Arts and Crafts movement focused on care – for art and design traditions but also for people. A return to crafts as your hobby – pottery, crochet, knitting, embroidery – can be both an act of self-care and a way of speaking to the need to care in society. You might already feel this – that crafting helps you find connection, purpose or a respite from digital fatigue. But it can also help you find your political voice. This is something that the Birmingham-based charity, Craftspace has looked to mobilise, by providing a safe space for young crafters. Philip Webb and Mary Eliza Haweis would surely have approved.This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.Abigail Harrison Moore was the recipient of an AHRC Research, Development and Engagement Fellowship in 2023-2025, and Whose Power? received Research England's Participatory Research Funding to develop and deliver the second series of the Whose Power? podcast.