This paper looks at fabrication spaces as spaces of experience and knowledge, potential spaces for a creative relationship with the world. The study is based on observations made in the framework of an ANR research project (2021-2024, Liquète dir.) that aims to analyze the potential for developing the field of action of fablabs through the study of documentation, communication and mediation processes. Among the many activities developed in this context (Lehmans et al., 2023), the paper focuses on the creation of a fablab in an ÉPIDE (Établissement pour l'insertion dans l'emploi), initiated during a workshop for the "volunteers" of the establishment (young adults aged 18 to 25 undergoing intensive training as part of their path to employment) (Entraygues et al., 2024). The study is based on ethnographic observations made during the workshop, in immersion, and in exteriority (researcher, not maker; Cenere, 2021): two sessions over six weeks, a "Tremplin" session, in a discovery mode, with exploration-oriented tinkering, then a "Fabrik" session, with prototyping-oriented tinkering. The data from the observations are cross-checked with the discourse of three volunteers, collected in an interview at the end of the workshop to take stock of the project.

What do the observations tell us about this iterative process involving complex “arrangements” (material-driven design, do-it-yourself logic) and the learning generated in this context? What do they tell about the relationship of the volunteers to the tools and materials that support their creative “experiences”? What are the respective places and relationships between knowledge of making, sensory knowledge, and academic knowledge?

The study takes an anthropological approach to analyze the results, focusing on the actors' actions and tinkering with materials and tools. From the Tremplin session to the Fabrik session, the observations highlight a plural and generative process built along the way, with volunteers gaining power to act as they gain experience in a creative and tool-based relationship with the material (Maury, 2011). From an initial “tinkering with” tools - whether improvised or guided - to a more ambitious “tinkering for", creating new objects or materials (Rognoli et al., 2021), a shift occurs that expresses an increase in demands and values the creativity of action. In this process, bricolage is part of an art of invention (relying on the means at hand; Certeau, 1990) that becomes more “instructed/literate” through experience, borrowing from the art and knowledge of engineering.

References:
[1] S. Cenere. Making in the making. Performing new forms and spatialities of production, Franco Angeli, 2021.
[2] A. Entraygues et Y. Maury. « Entre fabrique numérique et fabrique d’un commun, penser un projet de fablab en EPIDE », in TICEMED14 Digitalisation des pratiques en éducation : risques, valeurs et opportunités, Le Caire, 2024.
[3] A. Lehmans, V. Liquète et C.-A. Delestage. « Médiation des savoirs dans les FabLabs », in Epistémologie sociale dans l'organisation des connaissances, ISKO France, Lyon, 2023.
[4] Y. Maury. « Information, pouvoir d’agir, compétences, capacités : autour des mots autonomisation et empowerment », Médiadoc, n° 7, pp. 11-14, 2011.
[5] V. Rognoli and S. Parisi. “Material tinkering and creativity”, in Materials Designers. Boosting talent towards circular economies, pp. 20-25, Elisav, 2021

Keywords: Fablab, tinkering, bricolage, sensory, digital, creativity.