Launch Makers Guild

On 21 June 2013 we will launch the Makers Guild at the Waag in Amsterdam. The Makers Guild re-introduces manual, labour-intensive craftsmanship as a supplement to the digital fabrication practices of the Fablab. The Makers Guild is also the home of the Open Wetlab, a community laboratory for amateurs and professionals in design, art and science.

Why Waag connects craftsmanship, digital personal fabrication and biotechnology

Waag believes connecting instead of protecting ideas drives innovation. This is why the new Maker Guild houses an Open Wetlab to connect craftsmanship and biotechnology with the strong tradition of open source practices in the Fablab. Just like the buildings' residents in the 17th century, who acknowledged the power of fusing habitat of the pioneering stonemasons, blacksmith, painters and surgeons guilds.

It’s at this intersection of individual skills and joint vision, where the recombination of innovative ideas occur most frequently. Such an open-ended environment fosters designers, artists and scientists who make experimental and prototype solutions to urgent social challenges as well as high quality products.

Looking at nature, one clearly finds the largest variety of species in the most crowded and resource-rich environments. Coral reefs and rain forest are natural open innovation spaces, where fierce competition has generated extreme diversity, sustainability and energy-efficiency. While isolated resource-poor, polluted deserts are only inhabited by few, dominant species.

Industrialization has driven Western society towards a metaphorical desert, with only few dominant market players. The Makers Guild aims to counter this by establishing a safe haven for the incubation of innovation. It will provide a rapid evolving shelter from the raging market tornadoes, before launching its offspring into the wild ocean.

Open Wetlab
The Open Wetlab is a community laboratory for amateurs and professionals in design, art and science. It puts the tools of modern biotechnology, such as biological engineering and bio-informatics in the hands of those seeking new applications and meaning for it.

Programme

• 17.00 - 18.00
  Opening ceremony. Marleen Stikker presents the initiators of Makers Guild
  
• 18.00 - 20.30
  Toast with home brew GMO lager, soup & bread at the Open Wetlab

• 20.30 - 21.30
  Visitors are invited to experiment with the laser cutting and a steam bending wood, resulting in a beautiful lamp

• 20.30 - 21.30 
  Workshop: your first Timebank transaction by Timebank.cc
  (takes place at the Metselaarsgildekamer/Masons guild room). 
  Do you want to start with timebanking? In this workshop you will experience Timebank.cc in a nutshell. Timebank.cc is a tool to exchange services by using a currency based on 'time': the Hournote. An Hournote denotes one hour of work. From text editing to music lessons, and from programming to legal assistance: Timebank.cc connects you with those who benefit from your talents, and those who can contribute to your project. From filling out a listing to deciding on the collaboration, this workshop shows how Timebank.cc supports you in realizing your plans.

• 20.30 - 21.30 
  International premiere of BioARTCAMP: A Rocky Mountain Adventure in Art and Biology. A three channel video documentary of a legendary Bio Art field trip by artists, scientists and philosophers into the Canadian Rockies. Made by Jeanette Groenendaal, Zoot Derks and Jennifer Willet. Co-produced by G-Netwerk & INCUBATOR

• 21.30 - 23.00 
  Opening Party

When?
Friday 21 June 2013

Where?
Waag
Nieuwmarkt 4
1012 CR Amsterdam

Admission is free.

Makers Guild in the Waag is made possible by a subsidy from the Creative Industries Fund NL.