Tue 2 Sep || This panel will focus on the rise of Opensource technological and ‘hacker’ practices and more recently in the ‘Maker’ culture/movement, Hacktivism, Craftivism, Crowd-sourcing, Crowd-Funding, artistic and corporate Hackathons and Meetups, etc., and the knock-on effect that this is having on artwork and artistic practice, local communities, education, technological innovation, meanwhile creating a grass-roots, ground up cultural revolution.
When: Tuesday 2 September 2014
Venue: QA080, Queen Anne Court, Lecture theatre
Duration: 1 hour 3o mins
Time: 11.30 - 13.00
Panel Chair: Camille baker
Panel members: Irini Papadimitriou, Valentina Chinnici , Kasia Molga, Gabriella Lavine, Nancy Mauro-Flude
Abstract
“Maker” communities have emerged around the world where engineers, programmers and artists or crafters get together, pool their resources and support each other to make new unusual projects – outside of traditional corporate and academic research environments (such as the London HackSpace, or the worldwide Dorkbot or Maker Faire communities and local Meetups). The rate of change in the techniques and tools shared online and during Maker events is changing so fast that schools, universities and governments can’t keep up and citizens are educating themselves and each other online and in-person to make things, whether they are innovations, artworks, silly objects or just practical Do-It-Yourself techniques and tools – and they are building collaborative communities and new relationships in the process.
Many digital art and technology festivals, Google and other tech companies, science museums and more are sponsoring ‘hack’ Meetups and events, where artists and technologists meet for the first time, bringing sometimes only their ideas, skills and perhaps their laptops or DIY electronics kits, to build something together by the end of the day.
The panel will explore this exponential growth of the skill-sharing, up-skilling and peer production via online and in-person community workshops and activities that bring people of all ages and backgrounds together to learn and make something with technology, and the impact of this mass and internationally expanding phenomena. Some panelists may also discuss any recent results they have that might inform future research, educational changes, government policy or regulatory agendas.