Does Making Matter?
Why does making matter to us, either as individual makers or as a society?
This autumn researchers from the University of Westminster are running a series of workshops to explore why making matters to us, the role making plays in society, and the role it could potentially play in the future. Individual workshops will be targeted at big questions such as:
- Can making promote change?
- Can it play a role in fostering creativity and entrepreneurship?
- Can making solve problems with waste or the environment?
- How can people use makerspaces for local community needs?
- Does making just make you feel good?
These workshops will be led by David Gauntlett, author of Making is Connecting and will be an active making experience in themselves.
This is an invitation for makers to share their ideas and experiences and an opportunity to gain an insight and join a discussion, alongside researchers, into the role making plays in society. Makers who join us for these workshops can expect a lively and fun experience in which participants will be taken through a process of making stuff about their creative experiences, using the power of metaphor.
Through many years developing the LEGO Serious Play method, David Gauntlett has found that making models of experiences, which then become ‘things’ that can be discussed, or changed, or interconnected, is a powerful way of thinking about experiences, relationships and networks. The workshops will not be limited to LEGO but will also use buttons, bells, and a range of colourful craft materials. The process is designed to be engaging, fun, and thought-provoking.
The first in this series of workshops is at The Remakery in Brixton, London on the evening of Thursday September 8th at 7pm.
The Remakery is a co-operative workshop space that diverts valuable waste materials away from landfill and supports the local community in increasing their skills. They provide workspace and access to materials and tools. Remakers – local residents, makers, artists and businesses – then use them to create products, art and enterprises.
If you are a maker interested discussing why making matters to you and you would like to share your experiences with others makers and researchers, join us by signing up for one of the workshops below. By maker we mean anyone who uses physical materials and digital tools (anything from online tutorials to digital making tools) to have fun, create, explore, repurpose or restore – from traditional craftspeople to hackers, tinkerers, artists, designers and hobbyists.
Spaces are limited so please register and let us know if you can’t make it, so we can release your place. Full details of each workshop can be found via the event listings links below. Refreshments will be provided.
Remakery: Thursday, 8 September, 2016 19:00
Build Brighton: Wednesday, 14 Sep 2016 19:00
PlaceMaker Space: Thursday, 22 Sep 2016 19:00
Watershed in Bristol: Friday, 23 September 2016 from 13:00
Derby Silk Mill: Thursday, 29 September 2016 from 19:00 to 20:45, contact the Derby Silk Mill to register.
University of Sussex: Thursday, 6 Oct 2016 19:00
Urban Innovation Centre: Thursday, 13 Oct 2016 17:30
Further dates to follow.
These workshops are part of the research being carried out by the University of Westminster to relation Digital DIY (DiDIY). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No: 644344.
