People Centres
Making it easy for strangers to have a deep connection for free
A network of multi-disciplinary collaboration spaces spread across cities, towns and rural areas within a walking distance of where you are. Spaces are run by an open community where everyone is a participant.
These mini cultural centres are built on the following principles: 1. Free - just walk in to be a spectator. 2. Participatory - become a participant by organising an event. 3. Multi-disciplinary - organise a free workshop to explore a local problem, have a philosophical discussion about a meaning of life, do skills exchange session (website lesson for calligraphy class), play music together or get feedback on your invention.
These mini cultural centres are hosted in abandoned buildings, public spaces that have a bad reputation and which would benefit from a cultural injection, also portable physical structures 3D printed by communities that can be moved depending on the local environment.
Could this be like mass producer guilds?, presenting capabilities they have, to encourage innovation. Cause, pooling resources is not about money, but more about resources -- machines, materials, people -- that are available in locations.
Sounds like re-invograting local creativities~ So, how would these centers be run? How they are different from hackerspaces?
For me, it would be fun, if local manufacturers could come, and present their resources, and allow people innovate regarding new products, that those resources could be put to use to produce.
Usually, hackerspaces are made, and left function like playgrounds, but what we need for those ideas to scale, is the touch with actual mass-production capabilities presented by industry, showing up, and saying -- we're here, and help us imagine what else we could make.
// pooling resources is more about resources -- machines, materials, people -- that are available in locations //
yes, and often people don't meet locally, they drive/fly to other locations to "network"
// How they are different from hackerspaces? //
hackerspaces are for "hackers" - it's in the name. but creative expression is so much more than one discipline.
add a variety of arts, design, business, tech, science, and you have a more inclusive space where every participant can boost their creativity faster and discover the worlds they did not think existed, because local business owners never went to hackerspaces, and artists never went to labs.
// how would these centers be run? //
on a non-profit model where a local team is responsible to look after the building, monitor a public calendar, invite locals with specific interest to specific workshops.
it would require: a google calendar, a public trello board, 3 volunteers per space.
to scale such tiny cultural spaces across locations, a google doc will explain how to use a google calendar (for events), trello (for events plan) and how to communicate nicely with local gov/businesses to access abandoned buildings where a cultural centre is run from.
// if local manufacturers could come, and present their resources, and allow people innovate regarding new products //
YES, that would be amazing! boosting local economies that starts with an informal workshop.