Your smartphone is broken – and it’s not just a cracked screen. The problem is in the apps, the operating system, the hardware, and it affects your privacy, your health, and the health of our planet. During Museum Night Amsterdam, visit the Fix Your Phone Shop by Waag Futurelab and learn what to do to fix it!
The problems with our phones
There is a whole world hidden behind your screen. Operating systems, hardware, apps – all parts of the mobile ecosystem necessary for your device to function. But why do we have to give up our privacy and personal data to use apps? Why are (almost) all phones and apps managed and controlled by two companies? Why are we allowing the heavily addictive design tricks that keep us scrolling endlessly? How many conflicts do we perpetuate with all the minerals in the device?
Fixing it
There is a solution. At the Fix Your Phone Shop by Waag Futurelab, you’ll discover alternatives for all parts of the mobile ecosystem: from secure apps to ethically produced hardware, and from open source operating systems to biodegradable phone cases. We showcase new possibilities and effective alternatives that contribute to privacy and sustainability in our mobile world. To make it more sustainable, privacy-proof and fair, and so that it works for you instead of the other way around.
Programme
Next to the Fix Your Phone Shop, visit Waag Futurelab during Museum Night for digital meditation, our Digital Detox bar, and various hands-on workshops!
Workshop: soldering
Continuous between 19:00 and 22:30 hrs
In this workshop, you will learn the basics of soldering. You will work with a ‘learn to solder’ kit, including LED lights, battery, switch and a PCB board.
In this short session, you will learn to make your own circuit. Can you make the lights come on? You will then have a homemade object that you can wear for the rest of the night to literally be in the spotlight. This hands-on experience not only offers a chance to learn something new, but also contributes to Waag's mission to make technology accessible to all. Who knows, you might get a taste for it, and even manage to fix your own smartphone in the future!
We invite you to explore the world of technology with us and go home with new skills!
Workshop: Stitch Your Data
Continuous between 19:30 and 22:30 hrs
On the face of it, the digital world appears to be an immaterial universe, nothing more than a virtual reality. But sustaining this digital world requires a huge material infrastructure. Researcher Pamela Nelson has found a way to better understand the materiality of the internet: through embroidery. This may sound crazy, but the abstract digital world can easily be made tangible through needle and thread.
During the workshop, you will work with a dataset - for instance with data about your own Internet use. Join in and discover how this activity can help you understand the materiality of the internet and its effects on the environment and society.
Activity: Digital Meditation
Starts at 19:30 hrs / 20:15 hrs / 21:00 hrs / 21:45 hrs
These days it is difficult to find a moment where you are not disturbed by the constant stream of messages and notifications. You may even experience a sense of total alienation if you forget your favourite device once, as if we no longer function without a phone. Yoga teacher Marit helps you to put this (toxic) relationship back into perspective.
Meet us on the mat and be prepared for a holistic self-care journey in which we strengthen the body and expand the mind.
Workshop: Limitless emoji design and animation in 3D
Continuous between 19:00 and 23:00 hrs
Have you also been waiting for years for that one emoji that just won't come? Or do you feel unrepresented by the existing avatars on social media platforms? Give your imagination free rein and design one yourself in 3D. This workshop focuses on freedom and breaking through limitations: social media platforms could learn a thing or two from this. And the best part is: you can immediately bring your unique 3D creation to life in Augmented Reality. So you can continue your Museum Night tour with your creation by your side!
This workshop is run by Post Neon, an Amsterdam-based creative agency working with 3D and creative technology, supported by the Creative Industries Fund.
Digital Detox bar & music
Need a (digital) break? You can at the Digital Detox bar. Choose a fermented drink, caffeine buster or a nice non-alcoholic beer.
