compartisteis

Compartisteis is a term used in some Spanish- and Portuguese-language online art communities to describe participants who engage in collaborative, openly licensed art production. It denotes a practice rather than a fixed institution, in which multiple creators contribute to a work or a series of works and share authorship collectively. The word appears to be a blend of compartir (to share) and artistas (artists), with the pluralizing suffix -eis, though exact etymology varies by community. It is not widely documented in mainstream art-history references and its usage is largely confined to informal online discourse and regional zines.

Compartisteis projects are typically characterized by open licenses, versioned repositories, and iterative feedback loops. They emphasize process, openness, and accessibility, often employing remix culture approaches and modular components that can be reinterpreted by others. The practice centers on collaborative authorship and governance, with contributors layering ideas, elements, and performances to produce a final work or a cycle of works.

Projects may take form as collaborative murals, open-source software–based art, community-written texts, co-authored videos, or web installations. Contributors may specialize in different roles such as concept, design, code, or text, and attribution is often shared or governed by a project charter. Licensing typically favors open frameworks, with Creative Commons or similar licenses common to ensure reuse, though attribution, moral rights, and revenue sharing concerns can complicate governance.

Proponents view compartisteis as a means to expand access, democratize authorship, and facilitate cross-disciplinary skill exchange; critics warn of diluted individual credit and the challenges of coordinating large, diverse teams. See also remix culture, open-source art, collaborative art, and Creative Commons.