[Lab] Strategies for inclusion?

Fri Apr 15 17:34:39 EDT 2016

All great stuff! 

And indeed trying to skate down the northern rock is a hilarious feet!

I think it gives us lots to consider at Artengine, especially with an event like Maker Faire. The strategy to deliver maker type programs to communities facing various social and economic challenges also needs to be complimented by highlighting inclusive strategies that recognize excellence. Sometimes this might mean changing how we do things. How could we highlight cultural and contemporary making practices from different indigenous cultures at Maker Faire? 

I know it's a complex problem not resolvable in any one email or conversation but dedication to keeping up the conversation is certainly part of it. We shouldn't be so bold as to think making and innovation can fix wide scale social and political problems alone, but I think it's really exciting to think how making, technological autonomy and cultural activities of all kinds can help on the path to reconciliation in Canada. 

Ryan
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Sent from a mobile device.

> On Apr 15, 2016, at 4:22 PM, Jason Cobill <jason.cobill at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
>    Andrew - that video you posted is off the hook. The shot at 4:40 where the skater is bailing on tundra rocks is magazine-worthy. I hope you sent this clip around!
>    The look on the girl's face at 4:04 is great too - exhilarated and astonished.
>    Thanks for the info about your project! I'm going to forward this around to some friends!
> 
>    -Jason Cobill
> 
> 
>> On Fri, Apr 15, 2016 at 4:18 PM, Jason Cobill <jason.cobill at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Andrew Szeto <andrew.szeto at outlook.com>
>> Date: Fri, Apr 15, 2016 at 3:54 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Lab] Strategies for inclusion?
>> To: Jason Cobill <jason.cobill at gmail.com>
>> 
>> 
>> Hey Y'all,
>> 
>> 
>> Jason, that is amazing information. Last year, I was fortunate enough to go up to Iqaluit for their Youth Arts Month. I taught Photography/Videography & Skateboarding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7h5bpJsVfo
>> 
>> 
>> We left equipment (lenses for cell phones and skateboards) for the kids. We're all still relatively connected too through instagram & facebook, which is pretty awesome.
>> 
>> 
>> We were fortunate enough to get funding through the Nunavut Government, First Air donated flights and it was all fostered by a local artist, Pascale Arpin (http://www.pascale-arpin.com/). She's absolutely awesome for the Iqaluit community and our crew is going down again in the next week. For future years, I think bringing a maker-centric experience could be epic. Worth touching base with Pascale for future years, or at least getting her perspective as to how we could help. Anyhow just wanted to share my experience. Finding these motivated individuals can definitely help.
>> 
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> 
>> Andrew 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> From: Lab <lab-bounces at artengine.ca> on behalf of Jason Cobill <jason.cobill at gmail.com>
>> Sent: Friday, April 15, 2016 7:35 PM
>> To: lab
>> Subject: Re: [Lab] Strategies for inclusion?
>>  
>> 
>>    Super complex idea to tackle in an e-mail, but here's a few thoughts:
>> 
>>    I spent a decade in Winnipeg and the Prairie region (including up North), and I can tell you from first-hand experience that there are places that people live that you would not believe are possible in a developed country. The "Maker Movement" often professes that any challenge can be overcome with ingenuity and collaboration, but I don't think any of the deeply systemic societal problems that have allowed for this to happen are going to be solved with extruded plastic and laser-cut MDF. (More like decades of effort from an invested government and stakeholders, possibly including makers in some capacity. Ideas?)
>> 
>>    But I think access and exposure to tools and ideas can change individual lives. That's one of the reasons I love the Maker Faire so much - exposing people to the idea of making and agency over technology is incredibly powerful, particularly if you catch kids at that formative age when they're learning what they're capable of (and what society thinks they're not capable of).
>>    There's a great (here I go again with shout-outs) organization called Actua based here in Ottawa that, among other things, fund and run tech workshops for kids in over 200 indigenous communities (particularly in Northern Canada). If anyone's interested in participating in their programming I encourage you to get in touch, they're very cool people.
>>    http://actua.ca/en/programs/national-aboriginal-outreach-program
>> 
>> National Aboriginal Outreach Program - Actua
>> actua.ca
>> Our National Aboriginal Outreach Program is a customized, community-based approach to engaging First Nations, Métis, and Inuit youth in locally and culturally ...
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>    I think if we want to bring indigenous people (or anyone) into the community, you need to capture their imagination: hands-on workshops with enthusiastic maker ambassadors. If only 1 in 100 catches the bug - that's a new Maker!
>>    So how do we bring the Maker Faire up north? A Maker Faire Shipping Container that travels around on cargo boats? :)
>> 
>>    -Jason Cobill
>> 
>> 
>>> On Fri, Apr 15, 2016 at 10:40 AM, Ryan Stec <ryanstec at artengine.ca> wrote:
>>> Great job highlighting some of the good work being done in the city Jason!
>>> 
>>> I think it's a great point about being aware of the privileged place we speak from, but more important than recognizing one's privilege is thinking meaningfully about what one will do with the privilege we have. Discussion is key to that process and listening especially. Inflammatory discussion is rampant in online forms, but participating and cultivating instances of positive, inclusive and constructive dialogue is certainly the best antidote to this. 
>>> 
>>> One of the challenges the article made me think about is as Canadians, and as Ottawans living on unceded Algonquin territory, what kind of intersection do we imagine for the indigenous issues, locally and nationally and the maker movement? I don't think its just a matter of making sure we can include and educate people on making and amateur science because it feels like it needs to be more of a two way street... there is more dialogue needed perhaps between different world views. Its all very tricky!
>>> 
>>> We have some great creative people on this list.
>>> What kind of ideas do people have about inclusion of indigenous peoples in the make up of community?
>>> 
>>> Cheers
>>> Ryan
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ___________________________
>>> 
>>> Ryan Stec
>>> Artistic Director
>>> 
>>> artengine.ca
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Fri, Apr 15, 2016 at 1:03 AM, Jason Cobill <jason.cobill at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>    I'm really excited to share that the maker gang I work with inadvertently hit gender parity without ever explicitly setting out to. (5 women, 5 men)
>>>>    Certainly gender disparities exist in the Maker Movement here, but I think Ottawa (maybe more than other places), has tremendous women role models and leadership in the tech community and consequently the local maker movement benefits from their efforts. I could spend all day sending shoutouts, but people like Ladies Learning Code, GirlForce, Carleton WiCS, Algonquin WEET, etc, etc are organizations that should be celebrated and supported. Not forgetting the awesome gang of women instructors at the uOttawa Makerspace and the volunteers at RHoK, Pens and Pixels, IGDA, Game Jam, WordCamp, DrupalCamp and other local hackathon events.
>>>> 
>>>>    The issue of race in the Maker community is really complex, and I think inseparable from issues of class, income and privilege. "Making" is a hobby that requires a considerable investment of time and money that's out of reach for most. Again, we have some excellent organizations in Ottawa that deserve a shoutout, in particular Brittania Woods Community Center, who packed up a busload of people from Ottawa's poorest neighbourhood to shuttle them to last year's Maker Faire.
>>>>    https://www.facebook.com/erica.bregman/videos/10201113737722576/
>>>>    Brittania Woods is also running a code mentorship program called Kids Can Code, and have invested heavily in maker toys (Lego Mindstorms, arduinos, robot kits, etc) to get into the hands of kids who don't have them at home. They're doing really amazing work - the kind of work more people should be hearing about.
>>>> 
>>>>    I think it's really important to reach out and support these organizations, many of which need volunteers and mentors more than they need money (but they need that too). It's easy to drop a 3D Printer on a poor neighbourhood (which seems really trendy right now), but it's an enormous investment of time and effort to actually run workshops and facilitate exploration.
>>>> 
>>>>   ---
>>>> 
>>>>    Playing Devil's Advocate a little: I was disappointed when O'Reilly started producing "Craft" magazines and events separated from the Make brand - I felt like they were being intentionally divisive. The Crafting (as defined by O'Reilly) community is very heavily female-dominated but the distinction is entirely arbitrary. I feel like we could reach gender parity overnight if we just broadened the (already hazy) definition of "Maker" to include textile artists, culinary explorers, horticulturalists, etc, etc. I mean ultimately the thing that defines a "Maker" is a passion for creating things, right?
>>>>    Consider that there are 4 million Ravelry users. What is knitting if not a kind of manual 3d Printing process? And have you seen some of the machines they're using? There are some crazy innovative quilters out there (seriously).
>>>>    There's another 47 million users on Pinterest. You'd better believe these people are making things. I think it's petty to try to separate them from the Maker community because of some arbitrary corporate manipulation to isolate a demographic to sell soldering irons.
>>>> 
>>>>    PS: I'm always a little scared to wade into these kinds of discussions publicly because I'm a perfect example of a person with multiple levels of privilege and these kinds of discussions so often turn explosive online. I don't mean to trivialize the ongoing diversity problems in STEM, but I feel like we rarely celebrate the great progress that we're making and the enormous efforts people have invested to get us here. *highfive* To all of the awesome ladies, LGBT, and people of colour making super cool stuff in Ottawa.
>>>> 
>>>>    -Jason Cobill
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Thu, Apr 14, 2016 at 11:49 PM, Ryan Stec <ryanstec at artengine.ca> wrote:
>>>>> Came across this fascinating read about race, gender and class as it relates to the Maker Movement. I wondered about the work we all do together as a community and what kind of strategies we will embrace to make our own community and city more inclusive?
>>>>> 
>>>>> http://tascha.uw.edu/2015/03/power-access-status-the-discourse-of-race-gender-and-class-in-the-maker-movement/
>>>>> 
>>>>> Thoughts anyone?
>>>>> 
>>>>> ___________________________
>>>>> 
>>>>> Ryan Stec
>>>>> Artistic Director
>>>>> 
>>>>> artengine.ca
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Lab mailing list
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>>>> 
>>>> 
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