“Open Art” is a Creative Commons art show presented by Florida Free Culture. The show will be in the Reitz Union Gallery (second floor) from February 19th til March 2nd. There will be a reception on February 22nd from 7:00-9:00pm with refreshments and music. The art is also be available for downloading and sharing online. For more info, visit uf.freeculture.org/openart.

Culture confined by an increasingly extreme intellectual property regime may appear to be culture in appearance, but it is not culture in spirit. The artists exhibited in Open Art understand that culture is not simply passive appreciation and that any attempt to force society to accept it as such should be rejected.

These artists recognize that culture is not and has never been a zero sum game - that as a society, the wider availability of culture can only enrich us. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, “He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.” Culture should be “free” in the sense that it at once belongs to no one and to everyone.

All art on display is under a Creative Commons license. You are enabled and encouraged to freely copy, share, and, in some cases, create derivative works. Rip mix burn!