These Are The Breaks… And the theme for this weekend’s we/customize Customizer-in-Residence series, “Design for Re-Use; Making Breakage Beautiful” with Daniela Rosner. What does it mean to make refuse poetic or remnants elegant? Join Daniela as she examines the interplay between technology, handcraft, and the creative communities around them. With guest artists Wendy Renz, Debra Berl, Miwa Ikemiya and Miriam Dym in rotation from the maker community she’ll lead us in a hands-on exploration of what can be done with redundant, discarded or “obsolete” materials. From disentegrating chairs spun into succulent garden beds and e-waste turned into elegant jewelry, Daniela will show how objects can have second and third lives. Make this weekend your big break by bringing in broken things to transform into something alluring and new. We’re in and around the studio Friday, May 17th from 5 pm to 8 pm and again Saturday and Sunday, May 18th and 19th from 1 pm to 4 pm.  —Oakland Rover
Mutant Invasion Mutants have invaded the Oakland Museum. They are here either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under a colonial system, harvest humans for food, steal the planet’s resources, or destroy the planet altogether. Then there’s the Annabel and Elsa, our young Customizers-in-Residence version: hack old plastic dolls and action figures, reassemble them into unrecognizable and altogether fantastic mutants! Join us in this kinda sorta scientific and definitely fun customizing event.  We’re in the we/customize studio Friday, April 12th from 5 pm to 8 pm then again Saturday and Sunday, April 13th and 14th from 1 pm to 4 pm. Who’s side will you be on? —Oakland Rover
Ladies, Gentlemen and Kids of Allllllllll Ages, Please Give It Up For  Tim Phillips and The Mechanical Drum Machine! - kick - thoompf - snare - KAAAAH - stick - tOk! Join English sound artist, musician and inventor Tim Phillips and the ‘CMT creates music’ team when they bring their Mechanical Drum Machine this weekend to our Customizers-in-Residence “We/Customize The Beat” stop in the we/customize studio! clap - chlawk - closed hat - tssss - open hat - shaw! Friday, March 8th 5-8pm and Saturday/Sunday March 9th & 10th 1-4pm Come play, jam, build and talk withthe artists. tom 1 - bihm - tom 2 - bohm - tom 3 - buhm - ride - KEENG - crash - swuhFWOOSH! —Oakland Rover
In The we/customize Lounge Between the snapping of toy bones to make mutants and the smell of Lemon Head wrappers spinning from bicycle tires, there is a lounge in the we/customize exhibit space. The lounge is not a space to get away from the sounds of IKEA Hacks and Toy Music Making but instead offers a space to sit with all of the ideas being generated. In a “Not-Exhibit-As-Usual” move, we/customize invites reflection, conversation and perspective that only comes from sitting down in the middle of it all. “What does customization mean to you?” How fitting the question as you sit on a chair made in our IKEA Hack and are lit by a lamp from the same. Somewhere between the hands-on activities, Customizers-In-Residence, customizing-in-action, artifacts and meaning making, there is a space for you to share your story and add it to ours.  —Oakland Rover Photo by: Johnna Arnold
Lexa Walsh is our Customizer-in-Residence in our Open Studio Series this weekend! Leader of Toychestra, the all woman toy orchestra, sound artist, musician, performance artist and visual artist, Lexa will definitely be bringing the noise this weekend! Join us for Lexa’s hands-on, interactive and above all else, FUN visit! We’ll be in the studio Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 pm. I repeat, “Toys and Music” & Fun for all ages! —Oakland Rover
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