Come and find Waag at Dutch Design Week 2022! Just like last year our future dome will descend to the floors of the Klokgebouw. But this year, you'll also find us outside at Ketelhuisplein! Join Waag's version of the game of musical chairs, as developed by artist Arne Hendriks, where we do things a little differently. Or come inside and discover how open design can change the future of our economy.
What if we changed the rules of the game?
What if we no longer take growth as the aim of our economy, but solidarity, circularity, or the assurance that we can still breathe oxygen in 2090? And what if we would completely redesign our economic system, with society and nature at its core?
At Dutch Design Week, come in and discover a reality that could already exist, as shown by Waag. Open hardware instead of patents. Open source manuals and blueprints that show how technology work, instead of pointlessly long privacy agreements. Citizen science instead of exclusive, expensive scientific articles. And profit for all, instead of profit for just one of the super rich.
Come in and discover six of Waag's prototypes, developed with our partners. Get a taste of what new systems for society could look like. Measuring air quality for under 10 euros, hacking into medical devices or building your own weather station: open design is at the base of a new economic system.
There is no planet B, but if there were to be one, how would we design it? Come and check it out at Waag Futurelab.
Waag Talks at DDW
In addition to our exhibition in the Klokgebouw, you can also visit us during one of the events. Waag organizes several talks during DDW about changing the rules of the game. We look forward to seeing you at:
- The State of Citizen Science: What if citizens themselves map out the quality of their living environment? Heat stress, air quality and water quality; For many subjects, groups of citizens organize themselves to collect data, interpret it and take action. We speak to initiators, participants and governments who see the role of its inhabitants changing. Sunday 23 October, 2:00 PM, @Natlab
- S+T+ARTS for environmental commons: What if you put artists at the center of designing a sustainable future? Winners of the prestigious STARTS Prize explain how their artistic approach can inspire society to see ecology as a community good. We end with a tour of the Klokgebouw. Wednesday 26 October, 2:00 PM @Natlab
- Start making sense: How do we get past technology as a black box? How can citizens actively participate in measuring their environment with open technology? Waag Futurelab invites citizens to take the stage and enter into a dialogue with the government and makers of open hardware. how their artistic approach can inspire society to see ecology as a common good. We end with a tour of the Klokgebouw. Friday 28 October, 2:00 PM, @Natlab
- Pitch evening Innovation Labs Hackathon: Waag is organizing a two-day hackathon. We are working on a system to collect the wide range of cultural events in the Netherlands and make them easy to find without being dependent on Big Tech. Discover what ideas the hackers have developed during the pitch evening. Friday October 28, 6:00 PM, @Microlab
Musical Chairs, but different
As a kid, you’ve learned that during the game of musical chairs there is not enough space for everyone. This leads to competition, stress and a feeling of winning when you manage to secure a chair. But what if we would flip the rules of the game? Together with artist Arne Hendriks we will discover our reactions to scarcity that has been created, and the drive to win at the expense of others.
As per activist and feminist Emma Goldman in 1934: ‘If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution!’ Serious action is in need of dance, music and a loud voice. Come dance with us and think along about how we can offer a chair to everyone. We are living in times of abundance. There is enough space on the planet for everyone, but how do we redistribute it? Where can we make space ourselves? During this performance you’ll discuss economic growth, value, solidarity, circularity and the re-design of our economic system.
Grab a chair and dance along! You'll find us at Ketelhuisplein every day of DDW. Music and spoken word provided by Benjamin Fro and Elten Kiene.
About Waag Futurelab
Waag Futurelab is a platform for designers and artists to research current societal issues. Waag brings together all relevant parties through expositions, presentations, experiments, debates and reflection. In the four-year Expeditions to planet B programme, Waag Futurelab is finding the answer to the following design questions: what if a planet B would exist? How would we re-design our world and our lives? And what does that teach us about the here and now?
The prototypes in this exhibition are developed within projects such as Open Next and Hollandse Luchten. For Dutch Design Week, it is required to buy a general ticket that provides access to all expositions all week long.
