Commonality Grrrl is a research-driven, workshop-based initiative developed in collaboration with the Merseyside-based charity RASA, aiming to raise both awareness and funds through creative engagement. Moving beyond traditional independent academic and artistic practice and into transdisciplinarity, Commonality Grrrl blurs the boundaries between artistic practice, community engagement, feminist theory, activism, education, and social care, creating a platform where art becomes a tool for healing and solidarity. Inspired by Betsy Greer’s Craftivism, defined as  “a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper and your quest for justice more infinite”, we are utilising craft circles, specifically collage, to foster positive connections and safe spaces.

At its current stage, rather than simply interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary, Commonality Grrrl sits firmly within transdisciplinary practice. All of these approaches involve collaboration across different fields, but our transdisciplinarity integrates them into a unified, community-driven practice that generates new knowledge and action which couldn’t have been achieved within a single discipline. Our way of working embodies many definitions of transdisciplinarity as a “practice that transgresses and transcends disciplinary boundaries”, rather than simply an “overlap or intersection between disciplines”, which would lie within the boundaries of interdisciplinarity (Russell, A.W., Wickson, F. and Carew, A.L. 2008). By actively embedding social care practices into the art process, partnering with RASA, and engaging with speakers at our events, these participants become co-creators, not just contributors, and we create a space where collaboration is fundamental to our cause.

A key transdisciplinary aspect of our project is the principle of “joint problem solving,” which Nicolescu (2014) identifies as a “unique aim of transdisciplinarity”. Rather than simply renting a space for our creative workshops, we are collaboratively designing these events with local coffee shops and venues, combining their expertise in event logistics and community engagement with our knowledge of collaborative art and crafting. These workshops we are hosting would not be possible without this collaborative approach, highlighting how, in terms of our initiative, transdisciplinarity functions not just as a theoretical framework but as a practical necessity.

Aligned with our collaboration with RASA, whose mission is deeply important to us, a central aspect of this project is its focus on social care; we see a strong connection between their work and the therapeutic potential of arts and crafts as a tool for emotional healing and recovery. According to The Humber Recovery and Wellbeing College (2024), “individuals who participate in arts and crafts experience decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety”; therefore, by fostering safe, creative environments through our workshops, we aim to support individual well-being as well as contribute to a wider cause collectively. Aligning this therapeutic process with fundraising for a charity which supports survivors of rape and sexual abuse encourages the connections between craft, care, and collective action.