Clinic for Open Source Arts
At the Clinic for Open Source Arts (COSA), we're committed to supporting the creation of free, open source tools for creativity. To foster these open-source projects and contribute to the ongoing innovation of digital tools, we encourage creative expression in an inclusive environment and we promote contributions from diverse artists.
COSA is Focused on Health
Community
COSA helps to build healthy communities around open-source creative tools by working with founders, contributors and users to understand and empower one another.
Sustainability
COSA provides projects with healthy organizational models, mentorship, assistance in funding, and strategies for all stages of a tool's lifecycle.
Access
COSA provides training and assistance to a diverse set of voices in making tools more accessible through better documentation, examples and multimedia tutorials.
Innovation
COSA fosters and encourages new open source projects for the arts with mini-grants, residencies, and workshops focused on starting and growing open-source projects—especially those from underrepresented perspectives.
COSA is Focused on Tools
We support community made, free and open-source digital tools for creativity that allow anyone with access to a computer to begin expressing themselves. The tools are often the result of global efforts and can provide means and methods for artists who normally cannot afford the software used in large corporations.
COSA is Focused on People
We especially work to bring women, people of color and other underrepresented communities together as contributors to the ongoing innovation and growth of these tools. New perspectives bring new ideas and help in the formation of tools that might speak to specific cultural experiences and accessibility needs.
Resources & Funding
COSA provides small grants and/or temporary working space for open source projects that add value to the digital arts field. We also support community interest in open-source arts by collaborating with partner organizations locally and nationally.
About Us
COSA contributes to ongoing efforts to create and share digital arts using open-source digital tools. We create cross-disciplinary projects with DU students and faculty and frequently collaborate with other scholars in the digital field.
News & Events
We host a wide range of summits, clinics and workshops, directed by visual artists and digital developers. From hackathons to coding tutorials, we are building communities around open-source tools for creativity.
