OSP
Trajectory
An ecotone is a transition area between two biomes, river beds are a common example. Ecotones are areas where two communities meet and integrate. Through long and short interviews OSP is researching the modes of collaboration between graphic designers, artists and institutions. In particular, the research tries to highlight the methods or positive experiences where the parties involved try to escape from the common mechanics of commodification, read the interviews on ecotones.caveat.be.
Biography
OSP (Open Source Publishing) makes graphic design using only free and open source software—pieces of software that invite their users to take part in their elaboration. Founded in 2006 in the context of Brussels art organisation Constant, the OSP caravan now comprises a group of individuals from different background and practices: typography, graphic design, cartography, programming, mathematics, writing, performance. Through a collaborative practice, they work on workshops, commissioned or self-commissioned projects, searching to redefine their playground, digging for a more intimate relation with the tools.
OSP has worked with organisations both large and small, and collaborated with individual artists. They have organised workshops at many art schools (Royal College of Art, Merz Akademie, Piet Zwart Instituut) and festivals (Vietnam Open Design Week, Festival de Chaumont). Finally, in divided Belgium, they have won both the most beatiful book of Flanders and the most beatiful book of Brussels/Wallonia.
True to their name, OSP publishes all the the source files to their projects through their website.
Activities
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Publishing & Performing Relationships. Caveat at Bâtard Festival Each day during the festival, an artist will present a proposal as a sharing ground for thoughts, discussions, and reflections on authorship, value, economy, distribution, participation...
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Caveat Reading Room #11: Ecotones of Collaboration & Caveat website release Caveat presents a double programme hosted by OSP. The evening starts with a Reading Room where we collectively read and discuss parts of Ecotones of Collaboration, OSP's reseach into good practices in graphic design. This is followed by the festive public presentation of Caveat's website, developed and designed by OSP, a discussion and drinks.
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Open Source Publishing workshop Open Source Publishing has written a collaboration agreement to work with others. Within Caveat, OSP is rewriting this document and proposing a visual translation. During Bâtard Festival, OSP invites artists and designers to contribute a description and interpretation of their own contract or conditions as to develop a language of practices.
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Collaborations écotone Presentation by OSP at ERG of Ecotones of Collaboration, a series of interviews about modes of collaboration between graphic designers, artists and institutions.