The Curatorial Lab at the Museum of Care is a collaborative space for collecting, sharing, and developing tools and ideas that help sustain human life. We focus on practical solutions—both traditional and innovative—that can be freely accessed, used, and adapted by anyone.
Our goal is to create an open-source library of knowledge and methods that cover essential areas of life: food, energy, health, education, housing, technology, and more.
What we do:
We collect and share information, blueprints, and instructions for:
- Food Production — simple and sustainable ways to grow and preserve food.
- Energy Generation — DIY methods for producing and storing renewable energy.
- Health & Biotech — open-source guides for making basic medicines and health support systems.
- Education — open-source textbooks, learning materials, and practical science projects.
- Housing — low-cost, self-build housing solutions using local and recycled materials.
- Making Things — tools like RepRap 3D printers for self-replication and local manufacturing.
- Physics & Chemistry — DIY labs for creating new materials and understanding physical processes.
- Art & Design — works and objects that invite viewers to become participants—disassemble, reassemble, and modify them.
- Water Systems — methods for collecting, filtering, and distributing clean water. (new addition)
How it works:
- Open Source by Default. All materials in the lab are free to use, modify, and share.
- Scalable & Accessible. We focus on solutions that work with minimal resources but can be scaled up if needed.
Example project:
We considered a community playground—a public space with a central area for assemblies—as an example of such a project. A simple version can be assembled almost for free by the community and volunteers. If the project proves meaningful and finds its place, over time it can grow into a larger public space, shaped by those who use it.
The playground could include anything—from a ceramics studio to a shared food place, from a dance floor to a plant workshop.
We see the lab as a growing toolkit—offering practical knowledge that helps people create, repair, and sustain what they need.
