*Lifepatch* is a citizen initiative that works in creative and effective applications in art, science and technology. It focuses on the arts and science through education and accessible technologies that are practical and useful for citizens around them through the development of creative and innovative practices such as biological technology, environmental technology and digital technology. In practice, *Lifepatch* enriches the culture emphasizes the spirit of DIY and DIWO by inviting the target audience to become involved, to examine, explore, develop and maximize the function of technology in both the theoretical and practical use to society and culture itself.

*Lifepatch’s* main focus is in disseminating tactics for dealing with day-to-day issues within specific communities, mainly through education, collaborating with individuals and communities from art and science, either from formal or non-formal practical background. It collaborates closely with formal educational institutes such as the Microbiology Laboratory of Agriculture Faculty Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, to initiate Jogja River Project from 2011 to 2013. This invited citizens to investigate water quality of the rivers in urban areas of Yogyakarta while also documenting the social activities of the communities along the riverbanks.

*Lifepatch* consciously chose to style itself as a “citizen initiative” in order to not limit the results of its activities just to an art outcome/artwork. It sets a flexible platform and conditions for its members to initiate projects that can be implemented according to the needs of the surroundings, society, the public and the people, yet which are still based on each person’s own interests and the community’s vision. In talking of a target audience, *Lifepatch* is pointing at different groups of people depending on what they are working on. Each target group then has the chance to be more than just participants but also to develop, hack or disseminate a shared idea. To reach a wider audience, *Lifepatch* combines real physical activities with a virtual platform to share the knowledge and expanding networks both locally and internationally.

Larger-scale and long-term projects initiated by *Lifepatch* members include: Urbancult (an online mapping and location-based database of street art), the Jogja Rivers Project (a citizen initiative in river environment monitoring, mapping and documentation), and they have recently finished a collaboration with the International Hackteria Society for HackteriaLab 2014, Yogyakarta, a two-week intensive meeting point and multidisciplinary collaborative opportunity for makers, whether they are artists, scientists or hackers, etc).


Links: http://lifepatch.org

Thanks to: Laboratorium Mikrobiologi Fakultas Pertanian Universitas Gadjah Mada Yogyakarta *[http://faperta.ugm.ac.id](http://faperta.ugm.ac.id "")*

Hackteria – Open Source Biological Art *[http://hackteria.org](http://hackteria.org "")*,

Bio-Design for The Real World *[http://biodesign.cc](http://biodesign.cc "")*

*Lifepatch* was established on March 26, 2012 by several people from various disciplinary backgrounds with both formal and informal education. Even though the organization is still relatively new, the collaboration between has been established for years. *Lifepatch* now has members in various cities, such as Yogyakarta, Pekanbaru and Bogor. Its members include: Agus Tri Budiarto, Agung Firmanto, Budi Prakosa, Andreas Siagian, Nur Akbar Arofatullah, Adhari Donora, Arifin Wicaksono, Ferial Afiff and Wawies Wisdantio. Collaborators: the Microbiology Laboratory of Agriculture Faculty Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, led by Irfan Dwidya Prijambada and Donny Widianto (*[http://faperta.ugm.ac.id](http://faperta.ugm.ac.id "")*); Green Tech Community, Yogyakarta; Hackteria (*[http://hackteria.org](http://hackteria.org "")*); (Art)ScienceBLR and School of Life Sciences EPFL in Bio-Design for the Real World (*[http://biodesign.cc](http://biodesign.cc "")*).