Kontraformas: Craftivism and Co-Design from a Gender Perspective in the Periphery

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between design, feminism, and craftivism to transform communities, using the material culture of the periphery as a starting point and examining its role in the construction of collective identities. It proposes reimagining the material not only as an object, but as a tangible archive of shared memories among women, highlighting their narratives and popular knowledge. 
In this context, the article presents the outcomes of Kontraformas: Laboratorio de co-creación, a research-creation project developed between 2022 and 2024 in the southern periphery of Santiago, Chile, in collaboration with Fundación Ecolety in San Bernardo. Through four participatory sessions, the initiative used ceramics as a tool to graphically represent the participants’ collective experiences within a peripheral context. 
The project proposes a methodology applicable in various co-creation settings. From an approach that combines design as an interdisciplinary tool, popular feminism as a local visual language, and craft as an act of resistance, it developed dynamics that re-signify traditional crafts and strengthen collective identities. This positions craft as a bridge between design and its social role as a collective tool that communicates from the periphery.