DIY Methods

EMM lab provides media infrastructure for DIY Methods, a conference series of the Low-Carbon Methods group (LCMG). The conference itself is an experiment with different temporalities and medialities of research exchange. It aims to better interrogate and celebrate experiments with method. The DIY methods conference takes the form of a zine ring distributed via postal mail. Participants craft zines describing methodological experiments and/or how-to guides, which the conference organisers subsequently mail out to all participants. Feedback on conference proceedings also proceeds through the mail, as well as during optional online workshops and discussion sessions during the zine-making process. As a practical benefit, this format guarantees that the experience is free of Zoom fatigue, timezone difficulties, travel expenses, and visa headaches. More generatively, it also affords slower thinking, richer aesthetic possibilities, more diverse forms of circulation, and perhaps even some amount of delight.