DIY Maker Culture

On May 12th, Third Space Network and the Raw Hope Coalition will conclude their four-part series, Raw Hope of Humanity Rising, a set of public dialogues with artists, activists, and educators making “space for dialogue, participation, diversity and renewal.” Wednesday’s event will be a panel discussion with Laura Cohen, education manager at Open Works Baltimore, Nehemiah Dixon, director of community engagement for The Phillips Collection, and Layne Garrett, the co-founder and program director of Takoma arts space Rhizome DC, plus moderator Randall Packer, Third Space Network’s creative director. As a person of color, I was especially interested in what all the panelists have to say about social injustice and how it impacts our community; Packer says he believes that art can help find “hopeful solutions in times of crisis.” “As we are bringing together artists and arts organizations with agendas for activism and social change, it is our hope to build a more diverse, a more experimental, and a more politically engaged arts community that breaks down cultural, racial and economic barriers,” he says via email. Packer says that each of the panelists chosen work on the front line of DIY maker culture and that each brings their own unique qualities, whether they’re working in Baltimore, Takoma, or Anacostia. When asked how DIY culture is part of solving social injustice, Packer says that DIY is “a pathway to bridging the distances between people” and that Third Space Network is using the internet to help do the same. He also mentioned that all the panelists are open to providing accessibility and workshops for all ages and backgrounds in ways to solve barriers for social injustice. The panel begins at 6 p.m. on May 12. Registration is available at crowdcast.io. Free.

A previous version of this piece stated that the event was on a Thursday. May 12 is a Wednesday. It also misstated Dixon’s title.