Meet the Makers: Showcase adds dimension with virtual format
Published on June 08, 2021
Before the COVID-19 pandemic altered everyone’s plans, the Fort Worth Public Library hosted a “Maker Showcase” event each month at the Northwest Branch Library’s Panther Lab.
“The Maker Showcase was started as a community show-and-tell program allowing people from the community to come in and show off what Maker projects they have been working on,” said Ian Garland, the Library public education specialist who facilitates the Panther Lab. “With the pandemic we had to pivot the program and figure out how to keep it going.”
The Showcase moved to an online interview format to be able to continue amid safety protocols. The latest episode will feature quilter M.J. Kinman and be available starting on Saturday, June 12. New episodes become available the second Saturday of each month. The Maker Showcase collection dating to May 2020 is available for viewing here. There are “How-tos for Makers” videos loaded with tips in various Maker disciplines and also “Maker 101 Projects” as a companion to free kits aimed at younger Makers that were distributed in previous months via curbside pickup.
A Maker – by definition – is a person who makes something (anything), and that means anyone who is a Maker of any kind could be featured in an upcoming episode. With the virtual format, it also means Makers can live just about anywhere, too.
“Tania Barnes lives in Scotland and there is no way she would have been able to fly over to take part in the Maker Showcase in person,” Garland said. “It also allows for my guest to be more comfortable in their space. It also allows for them to not take so much time out of their day. When I spoke to the photographer for the (upcoming) September episode, he was in the middle of a photoshoot with his crew and was able to step away to complete the interview.”
There is always something to learn from another Maker, and Garland himself has learned a lot.
“I hope viewers take away new knowledge about a new Maker skill they might not have known about,” he said. “I have had a lot of fun being able to bring Makers who you might not think are Makers to the forefront and show off their skills. Each interview leaves me with a new pearl of wisdom - that is what keeps me coming back for more.”
Even when in-person programming fully resumes this fall, Garland said he is not sure how the future will shape the Showcase.
All 16 Library locations now welcome visitors inside, but in-person programming is not expected to fully resume until this fall. Garland said he does not know for sure how that will shape the future of the Maker Showcase. But surprises can be a welcome gift.
“I thought this interview would just be highlighting a person and their skill,” he said. “I never imagined we would get into deep philosophical discussions, but it happens almost every time and I love that.”