Our friend, Sherry Huss, mother of Maker Faire and a leading light in the maker movement, is now working with her multi-talented husband, artist, musician, maker, Joe Szuecs on the Maker Music Festival.
I was honored to be asked to act as one of the judges for the 2021 festival and had a ball. So much inspiring, educational content and a true sense of global musical-maker community. I can’t wait to see what the 2022 festival has in store.
This morning, Sherry sent us the announcemnent on the open call for 2022’s festival and virtual campus:
Occidental, CA — February 8, 2022 – Calling all Music Makers! You are invited to participate in the 2nd annual, 2022 edition of the Maker Music Festival [and Campus]. The Maker Music Festival is a VIRTUAL gathering of Music Makers from around the world exploring sound and music, and it takes place on May 14th and 15th, 2022.
The Maker Music Festival celebrates the makers of innovative, experimental and just plain unusual musical instruments. You might ask, “What is a music maker?” There are many types of projects that fit the mold. The fundamental music maker has crafted their own unique musical instrument. It may be made from traditional materials, scrap materials, modified electronics, altered playback devices, electromechanics or an AI driven robot. They may also include non-physical works like algorithmic music and interactive applications.
Last year, we launched the virtual version of the festival with over 200 makers and 300 projects that were presented on our campus of 21 buildings. This year we hope to add 100 more projects. The best part is that the MMF Campus is open year-round for music makers, music enthusiasts, educators, and students to explore and enjoy the works of our global music maker network.
When the Maker Music Festival goes live on May 14th and 15th, these new exhibits, in new buildings will be made public. It will be a showcase for DIY music and instrument makers. Along with the collection of projects, there will be exhibits, lectures, demonstrations, interactive activities, and performances that highlight the creativity and ingenuity of the maker music community. For a visitor to the site, the experience is akin to a real world ‘open studios’ tour. They can navigate from building to building and ‘visit’ the inhabitants therein. Each maker has provided video, images and text that describes themselves and their work. In addition, there are links to social media, additional videos, and maker websites. Visitors can also ‘tip’ a maker via the maker’s chosen payment method.
Performances, presentations, and workshops will be live streamed over the festival weekend. In 2021, there was 20+ hours of live programming over 2 days, and we anticipate the same in 2022. Sessions from 2021 can be found on the Maker Music Festival YouTube page.
This year, we are adding a Young Music Maker competition. Young makers (ages 12 to 16) from around the world will share their projects and vie for the title of Best Young Music Maker of 2022. Details to be announced in the upcoming weeks.
In addition, a Music Makers “Marketplace” will be added to showcase products and kits from our makers.
The first round “Call for Music Makers” is open now through March 27th, 2022. For more information and to sign up as an exhibiting maker, visit: makermusicfestival.com
Information for attending the event will be available the first of May.