The Open Studio started as an initiative of HOPE. It is a center for exchanging knowledge and skills on working in the field of the arts with children with a specialisation for children with special needs. Each year around 1500 children are inscribed and many more reached with the outreach programs in te remote areas.
Whenever the political situation permits, artists and art therapists are flown in from abroad to train and inspire local staff. The studio works in close collaboration with the PRCS University College of Ability Development in Khan Younis.
The Open Studio has an auxiliary branch. Over the past few years Open Studio employees based in Khan Younis have developed new initiatives in camps that are further afield.