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The incubator Platform21 has closed on a successful note. Over the past three and a half years, we have searched for a new cultural format for a design centre in an interactive process of learning by doing. We received the best responses to projects that were set up out of an open-source mentality and placed the process of making at centre stage. Turning our attention to everyday themes such as repairing, folding and hacking also proved to be a successful way of working in a cross-disciplinary manner and mobilising a broad public. In total, we initiated sixteen different projects and organised 53 club nights, shows and workshops. Three projects are still active internationally.
Our efforts have been well worthwhile – our experiences and those of our many participants and audience members have been incorporated into a new concept called Supermaker. This concept would have been the follow up to Platform21, if only there hadn't been a crisis and building projects would have run as fast as four years ago. We did not succeed in finding funding for our plans and are thus forced to stop all our activities.
But we remain strangely optimistic and are confident that the ideas and concepts developed by Platform21 will be picked up by others and developed further.
This website contains most of our projects and ideas. Like all Hacking IKEA products of which some are accompanied by their instructions, a beautiful essay on hobby culture, the many personal responses to the Repair Manifesto and an extensive report of 'the making of' the breakfast machine.
We hope this site will remain being used as a source of inspiration. And for those interested in continueing with one of our projects we listed all participants and their websites.
For now a great adventure has come to an end. We would like to thank all who have participated, visited us or followed us online. Our special thanks goes out to all sponsors and partners.
A book about Platform21 is in the making, and we expect it to be published end of February 2011. Please to be notified of the precise date.
So until the next time,
All the best
, Arne Hendriks, Dewi Pinatih, Moetoesingi Schmidt