Future Now
The IFTF Blog
#MakerCities and NYC Museum Media Labs: Day 1!
On Saturday May 17th, Maker Cities co-hosted Day 1 of a hackathon exploring the future of art and museums with the NYC Museum Media Lab Meetup group, and its amazing host Don Undeen. In the Noon to 6 PM session, attendees began by introducing themselves and discussing their interests at the intersection of the future and museums, discussing issues as diverse as the potential for incorporating gamification and meta-experiences into how patrons experience art in museums, to sonification- the process of creating sound- and analog sound-making processes can be built into bike-sharing programs. For instance, what happens if makers picked up on melody roads and begin to build music physically into how people experience cities?
With access to the Media Lab’s amazing 3D printers, we hacked together very early prototypes of some ways people may interact with art in the next 3-5 years in NYC in the near future- from 3D-printed molds for stamping sculptures in sidewalk gum, to music boxes that turn roads into songs, to appliances that enable anybody to attach a sculpture to a fence.
This week, attendees will be mulling over their first prototypes to bring the future forward. On day 2 (this Saturday May 24th), we’ll be finishing up our prototypes and bringing them out into the city to take some concept photos. If you’re interested in joining us, and live in New York City, click through the event link and apply for the session--strong making skills preferred, but everyone is welcome!
About Maker Cities and the Maker Cities Game
The IFTF Maker Cities game launched in 2014 to quickly capture makers’ on-the-ground signals and future visions of how the Maker culture is changing our cities—your city. Play the game or ask us how to host a panel or discussion on the impact of the maker movement on cities at your organization and play as a team. Contact Alex at [email protected] or tweet to @iftf.
This post is part of IFTF's Maker Cities, a game for global makers. Our Technology Horizons program developed the game to ask the public, “How will your city be a Maker City in 2025?” Built with Ushihidi's repurposed open-source software originally designed for post-disaster mapping, Maker Cities is the first platform to quickly capture makers’ on-the-ground signals and future visions for Makers. Join us and play the game! Contact Sean Ness ([email protected]) for more information.