How does an organisation open-source their cultural festival? Can we share the process for organising a festival, so that other groups can use it themselves?

How do organisations support activities and events throughout the year? Can we share the process for sustaining ongoing programs, so that other groups can do this too?

These are the questions that five experimental art, design and technology organisations from the Pixelache Network are asking themselves and others, and exploring, through a mobile circuit of workshops and seminars organized across Europe during 2013-2015.  Our common objective to co-produce a digital culture festival together through seven learning steps, taking place in the different partner countries. 

In the process, Piksel (NO), Pikslaverk (IS), Mal au Pixel (FR) and Pixelache (FI) will gradually be working towards 'open-sourcing' their festival skills and tools to provide them to their UK partner Access Space Network, who will test and utilise them in organising their first digital culture festival, the closing event of this two year cycle. We hope this test implementation will refine our materials to be released for others to use and build upon. Meanwhile, Access Space Network will share their approach to providing a contunuing programme of openness - helping its partners to provide opportunities to learn, create and participate throughout the year. We are keen to capture the knowledge embodied in our respective workshops and festival production, and to share this with a broader range of users.

The starting point for Open Learning Steps and Open-sourcing Festivals is the context of experimental art, design and technology, and the role of organisations in this field in supporting open learning processes. Open Source and Free/Libre culture, spreading from software and hardware, to urban space and organisational issues, unites the partners; however the different node-organisations also bring together a variety of specialisms.