MEET THE LEGACY LAB PARTICIPANTS

Yann Novak is an artist, composer, technologist, and advocate of the open web. For over 20 years, he has worked with artists, musicians, and cultural organizations to build sustainable digital presences that leverage open-source solutions and self-hosting. Through this work, he has championed the principles of the open web—independence, accessibility, and creative control—helping cultural creators maintain autonomy over their digital spaces.

Novak has written code and built design and data systems for Taylor Deupree/12k, Fulcrum Arts, Richard Chariter/LINE, Lawrence English/Room40, Fulcrum Arts, NBBJ, One Institute, and others. He has lectured on design and advocated for independent artist websites at ArtCenter College of Design, Cornish College of the Arts, and the Art Institute of Seattle. Drawing from this extensive experience within creative communities, he founded Substratum to address the critical issue of digital preservation for at-risk cultural websites.