OPENLab is a new national laboratory for early and mid-career artists and creative practitioners interested in making art in the public realm.  It is an open and intensive residency platform aimed at generating new strategies and ideas in site-specific, experimental and interdisciplinary practice.

OPENLab was developed by curators, designers and artists Paul Gazzola, Carli Leimbach, Lynda Roberts, Tècha Noble and Jay Pather as part of the Program for Innovation in Artform Development initiated by the Vryfestival and the University of the Free State.  It is funded by the Australia Council for the Arts and the National Lottery Distribution Fund and supported by Modern Art Projects South Africa.

OPENLab takes place in Bloemfontein and also involves a weeklong studio held at Modern Art Projects South Africa in Richmond, Northern Cape.