about open|forms

About open|forms:

open|forms is built on a simple principle. We are a group of friends from all over the world, but living in Utrecht, who wanted to see a new kind of event that gave an intimate and supportive stage and community to people who want to express themselves in the form of musical and artistic performance. 

We have three principles:

  • There is an electronic element to the work – this can be synthesizers, samplers, pedals, or something we haven’t thought of!
  • It is experimental in whatever genre, pushing an envelope and trying something new. It could be from guitar drones, to spoken word, from modular ambient, to processed voice. As long as it fits in a small intimate environment you are welcome to submit
  • It is inclusive. We wanted to create a community that is open politically, culturally and gender wise. A safe space for anyone to come and contribute something meaningful

…hence the name open|forms. 

It is open, but not specifically an ‘open mic’ event. The acts are chosen by our community, simply by us listening/watching and voting as a group. We are a small group for now, but the way we see this working, is that once you have played, you join the community and can influence who is booked for next time. This way we avoid the single same small group of people choosing the billing for each event and things becoming homogenous. We will maintain a passion for quality and some coherence in the performance, so that will be important… but the form and content can be flexible. Audio, visual, performance – all all welcome. 

The performances will be around 20 minutes each, with a short interview before or after (your choice) with the artist doing the performance so we can learn a bit about you and perhaps afterwards, if you like, you can take a couple of questions. We are starting from small beginnings, in a DIY style, but the idea is to build a supportive community where we can learn from each other, enjoy some relaxed company and have fun forwarding our self expression. 

We cant wait to hear from you. <3

The o|f team xx