Vitra Design Museum invited the Maker Library Network to takeover the Gallery space adjacent to the Museum, and produce a show to coincide with Okwui Enwezor and Amelie Klein’s exhibition Making Africa: Continent of Contemporary Design.

The Maker Library Network showcase celebrated the achievements of the programme a year after its launch and at a turning point in its international development. Curated by Daniel Charny, the exhibition explained the underlying concept of the global network, and was itself a  functioning Maker Library. Projects and objects created across the network were presented together for the first time, inviting visitors to read, observe and participate in the process of making. Objects on display include a robotic starling made from cell phones, a 3D printed breathing head and a flat-pack home-farming hydroponics kit. The growth and expansion of the Maker Library Network was also examined in the context of the wider Maker Movement, exploring the increasing popularity of open source design and sharing culture in relation to the process of making.

Coinciding with Art Basel week, a lively programme of drop-in workshops and skill demonstrations was led by members of the Network including mask making, geodesic structures, himmeli mobile making and African loom work. Maker Librarians including Heath Nash from Cape Town, MAKlab from Glasgow, GRAS studio from Edinburgh and Machines Room from London travelled to Vitra to host the activities and share their skills with visitors.