About

Inspired by the open source initiative and the ease of interactivity on the web, we share a transparent agenda at Open Source. We offer creatives, their families and our neighbors access to a project space, a creative community, and regular opportunities to make art part of their daily lives. We welcome input and contributions focused on offering challenging commentary via the process of artmaking.

ABOUT OPEN SOURCE – THE GALLERY:

OPEN SOURCE is a not-for-profit organization founded by Monika Wuhrer and Gary Baldwin in 2008 as a participant driven art initiative. In our new space, we will continue to provide a community and conceptual context for creative play and critical commentary.

HISTORY:

Since opening its doors in February of 2008, Open Source has presented work by various artists. Shows have presented conceptually driven painting, installation, sculpture, new-media, and performance. Open Source has also organized participatory events that included Soap Box Derby an camp, a workshop, where kids build amazing box cars out of materials they find in the trash. 17th street, the gallery’s former address, has enough of an incline to race the cars. Another annual event is the Soup Kitchen, which invited a different artist to cook a one-pot meal for the public each night in December.

In November of 2010 a 5-alarm fire in the gallery’s neighboring building devastated the Open Source project space. After six months of being itinerant, we now have a new permanent space in Park Slope, at 306 17th St. Brooklyn, NY 11215.

THE PEOPLE:

Originally founded by Gary Baldwin and Monika Wuhrer, parents of Oskar, Hugo, and Peter. After receiving a Bachelor of the Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Gary came to New York City in 1994 to study at the School of Visual Arts, where he earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Photography and related media. Monika is from Austria, and after studying in Milan, Italy, returned to her native country where she completed her Masters of the Arts in sculpture from the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna.
Raphaela Riepl joined the Open Source staff in 2010. Like Monika, she was born in Austria and received her Masters Degree in Print Making from the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna.
In March 2011 Frank De Leon-Jones joined the team, just in time to help co-curate the site specific group show ASSOCIATED in a fire damaged brownstone.