Open Source Arts’ seamless transition to the online world during COVID-19 lockdown

Open Source Arts is bringing people together virtually to run classes and to help fund art groups.

Its open plan venue on Kirkstall Road is usually a place where people can build props, make costumes, take classes in stagecraft and practice performances.

However, the events space closed its doors to the public in mid March because of COVID-19.

Director Philip Marken said: “Our space is normally busy with people coming in, collaborating, making work, practicing, training, rehearsing, performing, gathering for events, meetings and workshops. That has all had to completely stop.”

“We can’t have people gathering in the space because of coronavirus, but we have moved what we can online. So any of our regular wellbeing classes like yoga, pilates, fitness and meditation have all gone online.”

So have its micro grant schemes. Philip said: “Kirkstall Valley Micro Grants usually involved an awards evening every three or four months. We haven’t been able to gather people like that but we have moved it to a digital process where people can still apply and access the funding.”

It has undertaken a similar approach with Arts Soup where four artists pitch their project to a live audience. The audience, who create a funding pot by buying a ticket for soup, then vote for the winner.

Philip added: “We hosted an online Art Soup in May, which was really good and we actually raised more money at the online one than we did at the in person one. The winner was Musicultural Conversations, which teaches newly-arrived community English through writing and singing songs.”

The move online was not a difficult change for Philip.

He added: “We’ve have been working digitally for a long time. In another life I am a facilitator, so I facilitate conversations on lots of different change processes with people all over Europe. We also work on Zoom. So I’ve been using this technology for years now and it didn’t feel like a huge jump for me.”

Another aspect of Open Source Arts’ work is helping to bring groups together to tackle some of society’s problems.

The group, which describes itself as a community responsible business, is also known for its campaigning work on environmental issues like recycling plastics, and it was active in helping clean up Kirkstall after the floods of 2015.

Philip said: “We also do a lot of conversation work. We hold a lot of strategic conversations in the city around climate activism, racial justice and social justice. We bring people together to have strategic conversations which can help to unstick tough problems and to help things move forward.”

Recently it helped Kirklees Council with a system for managing requests for support and offers of support during the COVID-19 crisis. This involved building the system, training staff, and forging relationships between the council and mutual aid groups in Kirklees.

Philip said: “We are really eager to hear from people who would like to avail themselves of our consultation or facilitation services in helping them guide their teams through chaos or help their team unstick a stuck situation. It’s a core skill of ours, helping people find creative solutions to tough problems.”

For more information email: [email protected].

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Open Source Arts started up in 2015 in Kirkstall Road.

The arts group which does everything from venue hire, set and prop building, skill masterclasses to creative solutions.

Founder Philip Marken said: “I set up Open Source Arts because I believed that people who were making work needed a place to develop their skills and improve the quality of their work.”

Open Source Arts (OSA), which is powered by a core team of eight, 20 freelancers and in excess of 100 volunteers, is also heavily involved in the community. This aspect was displayed right from the outset. OSA opened in December 2015, just days before Storm Eva struck and brought floods to Kirkstall.

Philip said: “Six days after we opened - we flooded. Rather than sit back and bemoan the fact we’d flooded I decided to set up a volunteer centre to support the volunteers who were cleaning up Kirkstall Road.”

The ‘Team Kirkstall’ initiative ran for four months and involved more than 1,000 people cleaning up 160 business. After it had finished they switched their attention to cleaning up the nearby river. Since 2016 it has delivered over 100 river cleanups and removed more than 30 tonnes of rubbish from the river.

OSA is hoping to resume its face-to-face activities in the autumn if its safe. It is also exploring a £10 a week membership system to enable people to use its space safely.