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Collecting and Connecting

This workgroup maps the often-invisible regenerative material and digital practices already embedded in existing cultural and creative networks. Through surveys and collaborative sessions, it surfaces latent forms

of circularity as well as gaps and challenges. As a counterpoint to technocratic diagrams like the butterfly

model, this counter-mapping centers lived knowledge, collective infrastructures, and emerging patterns of care, aiming to support transitions toward more cohesive, viable, and ecologically grounded creative practices.

This workgroup furthermore examines how research methodologies from across the work packages can be

shared with the consortium’s diverse communities and geographies. In traditional lab environments, documentation preserves experiments, ensures comparability, and leaves a research trace. But keeping

a record is also a means to claim ownership over the results. This worgroup aims to question this notion of

ownership over knowledge. An iteration of the open-source publishing tool Etherport will be integrated into the project to support collaborative documentation of workshop activities. Originally developed by Gijs de Heij and

the Institute of Network Cultures (INC) within the SIA-RAAK-funded research project Going Hybrid!, Etherport is actively maintained and used by various research communities such as the Institute of Network Cultures and Amateur Cities. With the INC set to close in 2026, Etherport is seeking a new hosting organization.

Aligned with the themes of this application, the Connecting Otherwise consortium supports the collective

maintenance of Etherport, and the diverse artist/design research communities it serves. In accordance

with circular principles, this WP adopts Etherport as a case study in regenerative, commons-based digital

infrastructure—prioritizing care and continuation over the creation of new tools. The aim is to develop

Etherport with a stronger focus on sustainability and accessibility, and for long-term integration into art and

design research. A workshop for GRA/SI students will support adoption and encourage broader use across

partner institutions. Additionally, by using the tool to document this project across different partner institutions,

we aim to encourage its broader use. With INC’s discontinuation it will be important for Etherport to establish a stable, distributed user base.

We plan to expand Etherport’s capabilities to specifically facilitate workshop documentation. This builds

on H&D’s work for the Energy Storage research group (co-led by Dorine van Meel, WP 2), where they developed

the LabJournal tool using similar technology.

The documentation tools will support the entire research process, enabling the development of a hybrid

publication. Insights from the various WPs will directly inform the evolution of the publishing infrastructure—

such as WP 3’s work on small file publishing will inform how images and media are compressed for lighter publication on Etherport.

Questions:

and their wider networks, and how can these be surfaced through artistic and community-

based counter-mapping methodologies?

of circularity, fostering more nuanced, politically engaged understandings in cultural and community contexts?