Quilters, blacksmiths, weavers, embroiderers - 25 artists across four countries using craft to fight systems of power. Welcome to Art Against Empire!

This series introduction launches a 16-episode journey featuring over two dozen artists, craftspeople, and theorists across four countries. You'll hear from quilters stitching memorials to police violence victims, blacksmiths forging tools as acts of reclamation, embroiderers translating climate data into thread, and weavers who building queer community.

Host Ian Capstick is a recovering political pundit turned textile artist, he traces why empires from Rome to Britain built their wealth on controlling cloth, and why makers have always fought back. The history runs from the 1378 Ciompi Revolt through Gandhi's spinning wheel to the AIDS Memorial Quilt that covered America's National Mall.

Featuring 25 voices, including: Sara Trail (Social Justice Sewing Academy), Stephen Towns (painter and quilter of erased Black history), Grace Rother (Abolition Quilting Bee), Joy Fire (Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths), Gavin Mueller (author of Breaking Things at Work), and many more.

Art Against Empire is edited by Shawn Dearn and produced by Secret Agents. Visit artagainstempire.net for photos, transcripts, and resources.