Ogaki Mini Maker Faire 2022
“Let’s Begin by Creating: Object, Play, Culture” in a hybrid format combining physical and metaverse venues
The Maker Faire is a maker movement festival where makers from a range of fields, including electronic crafting, handcrafting, robotics, mobility, science, art/design, and
electronic musical instruments, gather from all over Japan to present and discuss their works as well as enjoy using those works together. This was the seventh time the festival was held in Ogaki. The previous event in 2020 was downsized and held in a hybrid format due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 festival was held at a similar scale to the 2018 festival, primarily in a physical venue. The event involved exhibitions, presentations, and workshops by individuals, groups, communities, educational organizations, and companies, among other makers, gathering over 2,500 visitors. We created metaverse venues to provide those who could not come to the physical venue with the chance to enjoy the event in a new way.
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Collaborator
Executive Committee of the Ogaki Mini Maker Faire 2022
O’Reilly Japan Ltd. -
Duration of collaboration
2022.04 - 2023.03
Purpose and outcome
The purpose of the event is to create opportunities for makers from various fields to hold exchange and dialogue with visitors through their works, thereby allowing visitors to learn about the joys of, and familiarize themselves to, manufacturing. The 2022 festival was held at a similar scale to the 2018 event festival, which led to the creation of communication comparable to that achieved in 2018, through exhibitions by a diverse array of makers.
The metaverse venues allowed us to extend accessibility to those who could not come to the physical venue. They served as a platform where a broader range of people could learn about the makers’ works and engage in exchange through diverse forms of media. Therefore, the 2022 event was a chance for us to propose a new hybrid format for the Maker Faire that combined physical and metaverse venues, building on our experience from the COVID pandemic.
Role of IAMAS
IAMAS’s secretariat and Research Center for Industrial Culture served as the secretariat for the working committee that comprises companies, educational organizations, and local governments from Gifu Prefecture. We participated in all aspects of the festival’s management, from event planning, coordination, design, and PR for the physical and metaverse venues to running the venues on the event day.
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Venue
＜Hybrid＞
In-person venue:
・Softopia Japan Centre Building, Softopia Hall, etc.
＜Metaverse＞Venue:
・2D venue: Gather
・AR / VR venue: STYLY, etc. -
Faculty in charge
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Shigeru Kobayashi
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Miki Sasaki
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Shoko Ito
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Yui Isawa
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Hiroko Sasaki
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Operations
Overall Director:
Shigeru Kobayashi (Professor at IAMAS)
Director:
Miki Sasaki (RCIC)
Venue Organization / Project Manager:
Yushi Yashima (Artist / Assistant Professor at Nagoya Bunri University)
Web PR:
Shoko Ito (RCIC)
Design:
Chihiro Oyama
Operations:
Yoko Yamada (IAMAS secretariat)
Tatsunori Nakahata (IAMAS secretariat)
Iyo Shimizu (IAMAS secretariat)
Atsushi Sumi (IAMAS secretariat)
Yui ISawa (RCIC)
Hiroko Sasaki (RCIC) -
Schedule
2022.04 First executive committee meeting held
2023.08 Preparatory information session held for exhibition applicants
2023.09 Beginning to seek out exhibitors
2022.11 Complete information session held for exhibitors
2022.11 Executive committee reports the overview of the event
2022.12 Held the Ogaki Mini Maker Faire 2022
2023.03 Second executive meeting held (tentative)
