Be Open think tank

#BeOpenNEWS #BeOpenART BE OPEN Art’s Art Limitless programme names Irish mixed-media artist Éabha Róis as its September 2026 monthly winner. Based in County Waterford, Róis combines painting with reclaimed and found materials to create tactile works inspired by Irish folklore, landscapes, memory, mythology, and the natural world. Throughout 2026, BE OPEN continues to highlight artists whose work reflects sustainabl…

#BeOpenDESIGN London-based designer Bethan Laura Wood collaborates with Shore Studios on Extra Trimmings, a colorful seating collection that turns ornament into structure. Inspired by the exuberance of 1970s interiors, the lounge chairs, settees, and stools use nautical braided rope and hand-knotted silicone to form ruffles, scallops, and loops across their frames. By making decoration part of the construction itsel…

#BeOpenNEWS CALL FOR ARTISTS! ITSLIQUID Group’s Rome International Art Fair 2026 returns for its 19th edition from December 10–20 at ITSLIQUID Art Space – Trastevere, inviting artists, photographers, video makers and performers to explore the relationship between identity, body and space. The open call is structured around two themes: Mixing Identities, which examines the body and consciousness as evolving forms of…

#BeOpenARCH Brooklyn-based Mexican architect and artist Elsa Ponce reimagines shade as a form of urban care with The Bower, a temporary inflatable installation commissioned by the NYC DOT Art Program for Summer Streets 2026. Inspired by the Mexican expression vete por la sombrita, meaning “walk in the shade,” the project creates a shaded public space for resting, gathering, and drawing beneath a canopy of soft, lila…

#BeOpenNEWS #BeOpenART BE OPEN Art is pleased to announce Tomislav Šilipetar as the Artist of the Month for September 2026. A Croatian academic painter based in Zagreb, Šilipetar explores identity, vulnerability, memory, and the complex relationship between the individual and others. Šilipetar graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb in 2014.His psychologically charged paintings invite viewers to reflect on…

#BeOpenDESIGN YouTuber and maker BeBeau Builds turns the idea of a “rock guitar” into reality by transforming a donor acoustic guitar with an actual slate body. Using the original neck and fretboard, BeBeau constructed an internal 3D-printed armature and assembled 18 individually cut slate pieces into the instrument’s body. Weighing nearly 49 pounds, the finished guitar still produces a surprisingly familiar acousti…

#BeOpenDESIGN Muvaqqit 60 by Istanbul-based Omora Lusso turns timekeeping into a once-a-minute performance. Inspired by the tradition of Ottoman timekeepers, the kinetic artwork combines curved scales, shifting light and a mirror-polished bird that rises into view to mark the time. Rather than constantly displaying information, it deliberately creates anticipation, making the act of checking the time feel more like …

#BeOpenARCH Invisible Studio and Pearce+ have created a hemispherical woodworking shelter at Westonbirt Arboretum using locally felled green oak and a lightweight aluminium shingle roof. Six tree-trunk supports carry a triangular timber frame, while 85 hand-hewn poles support the overlapping canopy, combining raw, site-responsive construction with digital fabrication. Designed to echo the delicacy of the surrounding…

#BeOpenDESIGN Mexico-based design consultancy NOS introduces the Paper Pulp Delivery Briefcase, a reusable and compostable alternative to single-use food delivery packaging. Made from lightweight, single-material paper pulp, its thermoformed clamshell structure accommodates different cup sizes and holds up to six drinks, with an integrated tray keeping beverages secure in transit. Stackable and easy to manufacture, …

#BeOpenART #BeOpenNEWS BE OPEN Art has announced Taiwan-born artist Lian Jhu as the first Regional Artist of the Month (September) in the East Asia stage of its 2026 global art competition celebrating outstanding emerging artists from Japan, North and South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Macau, Mongolia, and Taiwan. Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Lian Jhu is an artist whose practice explores human existence through introsp…

#BeOpenARCH Michael Jantzen’s unbuilt Staircase House turns everyday movement into the defining feature of a compact 1,000-square-foot home. Wrapping 180 wooden steps around a simple cube, the concept uses piezoelectric tread plates to convert footsteps into small amounts of stored electricity. Rooftop and ground-level decks, glass openings, a central skylight, and rooms tucked beneath the staircases complete a hous…

#BeOpenDESIGN Mokase turns the smartphone into an unlikely espresso maker, combining a slim, waterproof phone case with a disposable coffee cartridge, built-in heating system, and companion app. Designed by Luigi Carfora and Clemente Biondo of Smart K, the concept reimagines portable coffee by transforming an object already carried everywhere into a miniature brewing device. More extraordinary coffee makers on our …