Keynotes and Speakers for ITx 2018
Sam Muirhead is an animator and activist working to push the collaborative, transparent, and ethical ideas of the Free/Libre Open Source movement into wider society - with a particular focus on the arts.
In 2012 he lived an experimental 'Year of Open Source', applying the concept to every aspect of his life, from furniture to music, even to underwear.
Sam helped kickstart a global network around the idea of an Open Source Circular Economy, and makes Free Culture videos, documentary and animations, about Open Everything, using Free Software.
Since 2016 he has been developing a practice for co-creating and customizing open source animation & illustration, and also running workshops to give non-coders an experience of creative open source collaboration, without using digital tools: Cut, Copy & Paste
By now, Open Source has proven itself as a highly effective methodology for collaborative creation and adaptation of software... but why should its benefits be confined to just software?
Sam Muirhead has been grappling with this question for many years and has come to focus on open source in design, illustration, and animation.
This talk will outline why new approaches in the arts are necessary, what open source design & visual storytelling can do for education and the public sector, and what opportunities an open source approach could offer freelancers in terms of creative expression and financial sustainability - particularly in more geographically isolated locations like Aotearoa.
As well as an overview of open source arts & design projects from around the world, this talk will look in detail at three specific projects:
- The part that open design played in growing Open Source Circular Economy days from 6 individuals into a 100-city global network - within 18 months, with no budget or institutional support.
- A method for introducing non-coders to online collaboration, without digital tools: Cut Copy & Paste allows participants a fun, no-risk way to experience remix, version control and collaborative co-creation using tools no more complex than rubber stamps, scissors, and a photocopier.
- A research project in collaboration with Creative Commons, for open source co-creation and adaptation of illustration and animation, which aims to enable activist groups, educators and civic organisations to easily adapt visual storytelling to different purposes and cultural contexts.