Why+Now?+EF



//This image is place-holder for a better image I hope to find, but conveys the trend of making as a subversive, sustainable, independent act toward a more innovative, entrepreneurial act in current culture (although both have always already been there, just maybe not as visible). It also has a certain aesthetic to it that speaks to DIY cultures and 'making' in the tradition of sewing, home improvement, personal craft for sustaining. I would almost like to convey a trajectory from this image to the current tension in play between making as subversive, individualistic, empowering act to making as innovative, entrepreneurial, pro-capitalist/pro-sumer act.//

Initially the act of 'making' in the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) context was considered a subversive, political act born out of individual empowerment often with a focus on community and sustainability. At this moment t here is a resurgence of DIY culture in the more public eye, but along with this popularization there is a shift in focus from the act of subversive empowerment and creation of collective communities toward a more mainstream emphasis of innovation and entrepreneurial goals. How will this tension play out and may the trajectory of 'making' practices be re-routed to work in favor of the subversive, political and community oriented particularly in the context of civic science and critical praxis?