De WAR (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

for ''mess, chaos, confusion'') is a

social centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

for the

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

and

citizen science The term citizen science (synonymous to terms like community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is research conducted with participation from the general public, or am ...

, including a

fab lab A fab lab (''fabrication laboratory'') is a small-scale workshop offering (personal) digital fabrication. A fab lab is typically equipped with an array of flexible computer-controlled tools that cover several different length scales and variou ...

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

.Smith et al. 2017.Troxler 2014. A fab lab (fabrication laboratory) is a small-scale workshop offering (personal) digital fabrication. De WAR is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

organisation outside of Dutch academia and

educational system The educational system generally refers to the structure of all institutions and the opportunities for obtaining education within a country. It includes all pre-school institutions, starting from family education, and/or early childhood education ...

, and is part of the Dutch maker and

hacker culture The hacker culture is a subculture of individuals who enjoy—often in collective effort—the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming the limitations of software systems or electronic hardware (mostly digital electronics), ...

scene. It organizes public events, exhibits and workshops connecting technology,

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

, science and arts. FabLab Amersfoort opened within De WAR in 2010, as one of the first

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

fab labs.Zijp 2011.

History

De WAR dates back to 2002, when a group of performing artists, "De Spullenmannen" created a laboratory in an old factory complex in Amersfoort. Leading artists of the "De Spullenmannen" (English: The Spullenmen; the Dutch "spullen" meaning "things" or "stuff") were Diana Wildschut and Harmen Zijp. They make visual theatre and theatrical installations, and work often with garbage from the

consumer society Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

. The Spullenmen act on the interface of art and science. The Spullen laboratory ("Spullenlab") was established in the abandoned factory of Warner-Jenkinson (part of Sensient Technologies), where dyes were made. Around 2007 the first steps in creating "De WAR" were taken. The idea was to create an open workspace for artists, (citizen) scientists, starting entrepreneurs etc. An important factor in the foundation of De WAR was the start of the so-called "festival Franje", ("Franje" meaning "fringe"), that continued as an autonomous

fringe festival Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fr ...

in Amersfoort,

Arendal Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...

(Norway) and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

(Germany) until 2017. This gives the line-up of all the festivals from 2007 until 2017 in Amersfoort, Arendal and Potsdam.

Gallery

Fab Lab De WAR Amersfoort, the Netherlands, Koppelting Festival, August 2024 - 02.jpg, De WAR Fab lab, 2024. Fab Lab De WAR Amersfoort, the Netherlands, Koppelting Festival, August 2024 - 05.jpg, De WAR Fab lab equipment, 2024. Fab Lab De WAR Amersfoort, the Netherlands, Koppelting Festival, August 2024 - 06.jpg, De WAR Fab lab equipment, 2024. Fab Lab De WAR Amersfoort, the Netherlands, Koppelting Festival, August 2024 - 03.jpg, De WAR Fab lab equipment, 2024. Weerballon oplatenB.jpg, Citizen science: Weather balloon launch, De WAR, 2017. Micrometeorite_inside_dust_mite2.jpg, Citizen science: Microscope view of a metallic

micrometeorite A micrometeorite is a micrometeoroid that has survived entry through the Earth's atmosphere. Usually found on Earth's surface, micrometeorites differ from meteorites in that they are smaller in size, more abundant, and different in composition. T ...

(pointed eggshape) including a dust mite, De WAR, 2024. 20240816 DeWAR (binnen) Heiligenbergerweg 02.jpg, Showcase for discarded domestic electrical appliances (

toaster A toaster is a small electric appliance that uses radiant heat to brown sliced bread into toast, the color caused by the Maillard reaction. It typically consists of one or more slots into which bread is inserted, and heating elements, o ...

s) at De WAR, 2024. 20240816 DeWAR (binnen) Heiligenbergerweg 05.jpg, Poster for the Koppelting Citizen science conference, August 2024. 20160422 Stoomluciferfabriek De Eem werd later Warner Jenkinson.jpg, Former location of De WAR, former Steam Match Factory, Eem River, Amersfoort, the Netherlands, 2016.

References

External links

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Literature

* Full text download. * * * 3D printing Amersfoort Digital manufacturing Dutch artist groups and collectives Fab labs Hacker culture {{Netherlands-stub