Maker Library Network | British Council

The Maker Library Network (MLN)

The Maker Library Network (MLN) is a British Council programme that connects designers and makers around the world. It facilitates knowledge and a skills' exchange amongst professionals and encourages public engagement with making. A Maker Library combines elements of a maker space, a library and a gallery. These hubs are connected online and through a programme of travel exchanges, exhibitions and events, and people use them to make things, show things, get inspired and connect with like-minded people. The Maker Library Network engages with different forms of making, from traditional craft processes to digital technologies and everything in-between. Maker Libraries exist in the UK, South Africa, Turkey, Mexico, Nigeria and now in Ukraine, and there is a growing portfolio of interventions and pop-ups around the globe.

The MLN concept was created and developed by Daniel Charny and From Now On in collaboration with the British Council.

For more information and to follow the story, visit the MLN website at www.makerlibrarynetwork.org and www.design.britishcouncil.org/projects/makerlibraries/

Maker Library in Ukraine

IZONE, Izolyatsia’s maker lab, , launched the first Maker in Ukraine on 3 June 2016, connecting the community of designers and makers in Kyiv to the international Maker Library Network.

IZONE is a creative hub and maker lab with open workshops, studio and gallery spaces, and a café space which brings together the local community. The Lab is a project part of Izolyatsia: Platform for Cultural Initiatives founded in Donetsk and recently relocated to Kyiv due to the conflict in the east.

The Maker Library at IZONE will run a series of events during 2016. The programme htlped diversify their range of activities and connect makers around Kyiv, giving them access to specialised books and the opportunity to learn and share skills and knowledge, with a focus on technology and crafts. The ambition is for the Maker Library at IZONE to become a useful platform for Ukrainian designers, architects, artists and craftspeople to convene and share their ideas, practice and products around the world. Visit their website to find out more and subscribe to their newsletter.