Data Commons Lab is a production space for analysing and viewing open data.
The space which was a continuation of the work with data carried out in various Hirikilabs workshops throughout 2016 and 2017. A laboratory for reflecting on information as a common good that should be looked after and managed jointly by the citizenry, governments and the private sector, and at times must be liberated or protected from fencing or other types of appropriation.
It is production laboratory for learning while doing, using data analysis and display, enabling an objective and rigorous understanding of complex realities by producing multiple graphic representations of the data. A people’s laboratory and a meeting space for sharing knowledge and questions from different disciplines and interests, and for experiencing new methods of collaborative organisation and production and data management. A laboratory for analysing and understanding local contexts and for connecting these with communities working in other places.
Data Commons Lab works as an open and stable work group that operates autonomously to address a specific interest, in this case, the culture of data. It is a formula that already works in Medialab to deal with other subjects. In this case, the group intends to bring together people with diverse interests and knowledge to focus on information, data and its visualisation. The participants decide on the dynamics, themes and ways of organising themselves. The group meets periodically in online and in-person sessions.
