Makers vs. Virus · Disruptive Fridays #2

The second edition of Disruption Network Lab’s new programme stream – DISRUPTIVE FRIDAYS (live every Friday at 5pm Berlin time) features a conversation between Michael Ang (artist and engineer), Andreas Kopp (creative technologist, maker, post-it artist and teacher) and Lieke Ploeger (Disruption Network Lab).

We will speak about critical making in times of corona: how can we use digital fabrication techniques such as 3D printing and laser cutting in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic? Michael Ang & Andreas Kopp participated in the recent #wirvsvirus hackathon organised by the German government to find digital community actions against the corona virus and its effects. Together with Nicholas de Coster they developed a design for an open source/DIY protective face shield, which is currently being printed and distributed to help medical professionals stay safe from infection.

Michael Ang (Artist and engineer, CA/DE).
Michael Ang is an artist and engineer who creates light objects, interactive installations, and technological tools that expand the possibilities of human expression and connection. Applying a hacker’s aesthetic, he often repurposes existing technology to create human-centered experiences in public space and the open field. Countering the trend for technology to dissociate us from ourselves and surroundings, Michael’s works connect us to each other and the experience of the present moment. He is the co-inventor of the Infl3ctor, the projection system for Digital Calligraffiti. He holds a Master’s Degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at New York University, USA and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Canada.

Andreas Kopp (Creative technologist, maker, post-it artist and teacher, DE)
Andreas Kopp loves to make things and learn new techniques of making, designing and coding. He is the founder of Erfindergarten, an open workshop for digital production, Fab Lab, youth club and DIY community and workshop space in Munich, where he gives kids the best start into making and inventing things by learning them 21st century skill and inspire them to start learning and inventing themselves. He is also the artist/artisan behind postitartcreators. Kopp has been commissioned to create portraits and installations for exhibitions, events, shop-windows, shopping centers and commercials all over the world. He often works with Post-it® Notes but has also done works with cups or origami paper and loves to make his works interactive.

Lieke Ploeger (Community director, Disruption Network Lab, NL/DE)
Lieke Ploeger is the community director and administration officer of the Disruption Network Lab. She is the co-founder of the independent project space SPEKTRUM art science community, where she worked as community builder from 2014 to 2018. Her core interest lies in building and developing both online and offline communities of interest, with a focus on sharing knowledge and expertise in an open way. She previously worked for the Open Knowledge Foundation and for the National Library of the Netherlands. She has a double master of arts from the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands and has been involved in various European research projects in the areas of open cultural data, open access and open science.

Photo Courtesy of the organisation