Bricolabs is a collaborative exchange between Brazilian, Indonesian, UK, Chinese, Indian and Dutch open source experts, exploring mutual interest in distributed generation of tools, and soft/hardware skills. We focus on knowledge exchange, development of new business models and the building of a critical discourse for the current generations of young artists, designers and social scientists.
This the idea: to draw on the expertise of all experimental places that have the conceptual grasp of taking advantage of low tech and the full loop of open content, software and hardware for working locally in the communities and globally as no longer a countermovement against wild capital, IP and patents but a parallel one.
We build on the Brazilian expertise gathered in the process of establishing Points of Culture (Pontos de Cultura) “free-software studios, built with free software, in hundreds of towns and villages throughout Brazil, enabling people to create culture using tools that support free cultural transmission.” and will introduce a next phase of focus and scope: bricolabs.
GENERIC INFRASTRUCTURES
“Electronic techniques recognize no contradiction in principle between transmitter and receiver. Every transistor radio is, by the matters of its construction, at the same time a potential transmitter; it can interact with other receivers by circuit reversal. The development from a mere distribution medium to a communications medium is technically not a problem. It is consciously prevented for understandable political reasons. The technical distinction between receivers and transmitters reflects the social division of labor into producers and consumers.”
Bricolabs investigate the potentialities of the combination open societies, open hardware and open labs. Its aim is to create a brand neutral and non proprietary generic infrastructure. Following the wikipedia definition of generic drugs:
a generic infrastructure is bioequivalent to a brand or proprietary infrastructure with respect to electric and applicationcodynamic properties.
The concept of generic infrastructure claims that only by educating all citizens in their increasing connectivities will foster an atmosphere of realistic acceptance of new nano, sensor and bio technologies through the abilities of ever increasing wired an self educated individuals to work on the principles of these technologies not from the closed ever increasing alledgly simple interfaces. We argue for more complexity. We believe that citizens of the YOU11 generation are very capable of handling this.
BRICOLABS: WHERE?
Brasil
São Paulo: Felipe Fonseca
LaMiMe, Laboratório de Mídia da MetaReciclagem, bricolab, São Paulo is the first spearhead to develop the functional artistic, community, organizational and business models. LaMiMe in São Paulo will include some pontos de cultura (“cultural hotspots”) as testing environments to what is developed in LaMiMe, for instance, wi-fi to Cidade Tiradentes, east side São Paulo.
Indonesia
Bandung: Gustaff Harriman
Yogyakarta: Venzha Christ
Netherlands
Amsterdam: Lotte Meijer, Adam Hyde
Hilversum: Rob van Kranenburg
Eindhoven: Ben Schouten
China
Beijing: Li Zhenhua
UK
London: Bronac Ferran
Poland
Warsaw: still open
Interest has been shown from Timo Arnall, Oslo.
Teaser 