Open Space
Open Space is an American experimental-music publisher and digital magazine focused on unconventional writing, scores, sound practices, and multimedia work.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Open Space is an American publishing and editorial project devoted to experimental music, soundmaking, and boundary-crossing creative practice. It began in 1988 through a collaboration among composer and publisher Benjamin Boretz, composer J. K. Randall, and composer Elaine Barkin. Its early activity was shaped by real-time soundmaking sessions connected with Bard College and Princeton University, and by an interest in presenting experimental work in forms that did not resemble conventional institutional academic-music publications. The project drew inspiration from Kenneth Gaburo's Lingua Press, particularly the way that press treated graphic presentation as an active part of publication rather than as a neutral container for scholarly content. In that spirit, Open Space developed as a hospitable outlet for material that might be marginal, unfinished, exploratory, or difficult to classify within established musical and literary categories. Its editorial remit has encompassed texts, scores, documentation, reflections, and other contributions associated with creative activity and performance. The Open Space Magazine and The Open Space Web Magazine were introduced in 1999. These publications expanded the project beyond an informal or event-based context and provided more sustained venues for experimental writing and music-related work. Mary Lee Roberts and Tildy Bayar joined the editorial staff during this period, and Dorota Czerner became a fellow editor and producer in 2003. During the late 2000s, editors Dean Rosenthal, Jon Forshee, and Arthur Margolin joined the project. Open Space then pursued a more fully digital form of The Open Space Web Magazine, with the aim of integrating streaming multimedia with notes, scores, and other contributions. This approach reflected the changing possibilities of online publishing and the needs of work that could not be adequately represented through text or static print alone. Open Space's stated orientation is community-based and exploratory. Rather than positioning itself as a conventional commercial music publisher, it has functioned as an independent platform for people seeking to extend, dissolve, or experiment with the boundaries among expressive languages, thought, making, and performance. Its audience and contributor base are therefore associated with experimental music, avant-garde composition, sound art, interdisciplinary practice, and forms of creative research. In September 2011, Open Space was selected to participate in the Free Music Archive, an initiative that increased the discoverability of its music-related material through an established online platform for freely accessible audio. Publicly available reference material does not establish the organization's current operating status, ownership, legal structure, or headquarters, so those fields remain unspecified.
History
Open Space began in 1988 as a collaborative publishing and performance-oriented project created by Benjamin Boretz, J. K. Randall, and Elaine Barkin. Its early development was associated with real-time soundmaking sessions in and around Bard College and Princeton University. The project emerged from a desire to document and circulate experimental creative activity without adopting the standardized visual and institutional conventions often associated with academic music publishing. A major influence was Kenneth Gaburo's Lingua Press. Open Space was particularly interested in Lingua Press's graphic and material approach, in which the design of a publication could communicate the exploratory character of the work. This helped establish an editorial identity centered on unusual forms, unfinished or developing ideas, and work that crossed the boundaries between composition, performance, writing, and other modes of expression. In 1999, Open Space expanded its publishing activity through The Open Space Magazine and The Open Space Web Magazine. The two titles provided platforms for texts and materials related to experimental music and creative practice. Mary Lee Roberts and Tildy Bayar joined the editorial staff at this stage. In 2003, Dorota Czerner became a fellow editor and producer, adding to the project's editorial and production capacity. The project continued to develop as web publishing became increasingly capable of handling audio and visual media. During the late 2000s, Dean Rosenthal, Jon Forshee, and Arthur Margolin joined the editorial group. Open Space sought to create a more completely digital version of The Open Space Web Magazine that could stream multimedia while also presenting notes, scores, and other forms of contribution. This represented a shift from treating the web as a supplementary publication channel toward using it as the primary environment for work whose meaning depended on sound, time, performance, or interaction. Open Space's editorial mission has consistently emphasized an inclusive and experimental community. It aims to make room for contributors who want to test the limits of their expressive practices or combine several forms of thinking and making. The project has consequently operated less like a conventional genre magazine and more like an open platform for experimental music, sound art, avant-garde composition, critical reflection, documentation, and interdisciplinary work. In September 2011, Open Space was selected to participate in the Free Music Archive. The association extended the reach of its audio-oriented material and aligned with its broader commitment to making experimental work accessible through digital channels. Available reference sources do not provide reliable information about subsequent management, corporate ownership, financial structure, or whether the project remains active today.
- 2011
Participation in the Free Music Archive
[1]Open Space is selected to participate in the Free Music Archive in September, expanding the online availability of its music-related material.
- 2003
Dorota Czerner joins as editor and producer
[1]Dorota Czerner becomes a fellow editor and producer of Open Space.
- 1999
Magazine and web magazine begin
[1]The Open Space Magazine and The Open Space Web Magazine are launched, broadening the project's editorial output.
- 1988
Open Space is established
[1]Benjamin Boretz, J. K. Randall, and Elaine Barkin begin Open Space as a collaborative project connected with experimental soundmaking and publishing.
Editorial team expands in the late 2000s
[1]Dean Rosenthal, Jon Forshee, and Arthur Margolin join the editorial group as Open Space develops a more fully digital web publication.
Products and positioning
An independent, experimental publishing platform for unconventional music, sound, writing, scores, and interdisciplinary creative work, emphasizing openness, process, and forms that may not fit conventional academic or commercial publishing.
Experimental music and arts magazine · 1999
The Open Space Magazine
A publication associated with Open Space's effort to circulate experimental music writing, creative reflection, and related materials outside conventional academic formats. Its editorial scope reflects the project's interest in works that are exploratory, interdisciplinary, or still in development.
Digital magazine · 1999
The Open Space Web Magazine
Open Space's web-based magazine, developed as a digital venue for texts, notes, scores, documentation, and eventually streaming multimedia. The publication was intended to support work whose sonic or performative dimensions could not be fully represented in print.
Digital experimental-music publishing
Open Space multimedia publications
A broader body of online material combining sound, streaming media, scores, notes, and other contributions. These materials express Open Space's attempt to use digital publishing as an integrated environment for experimental creative work rather than merely as an electronic replica of print.
Brand decisions
- Move toward a fully digital multimedia publicationStrategy
Background
In the late 2000s, Open Space's editors sought to adapt The Open Space Web Magazine to work more effectively with streaming media, scores, notes, and other non-print contributions.
Action taken
The project pursued a primarily digital version of the web magazine capable of presenting multimedia alongside written and scored material.
Aftermath
The strategy reinforced Open Space's identity as an online platform for experimental music and interdisciplinary creative work, although later operating results are not documented in the supplied sources.
Recent events
- 2011
Open Space selected for participation in the Free Music Archive[1]
Other
Open Space was selected in September 2011 to participate in the Free Music Archive, giving its experimental-music material an additional online distribution and discovery channel.
Sources3 sources
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