The Open Anthropology Institute LLC is an experiment, begun at the beginning of 2019 by Richard Wilk and Anne Pyburn because anthropology desperately needs new thinking, new ideas and new goals. We need a think tank, an institution where we can bring academic and applied anthropology together in new ways. 

At this moment the OAI is just a platform, a place where new things can happen. We are organized as a business, a limited partnership because this gives us the most flexibility, though we never intend to make a profit.

We love anthropology and have devoted our lives to it, and despite its problems the discipline  has a radical potential to change the way we see our world, to solve problems and help human (and nonhuman) beings understand one another.

Help us realize the potential of anthropology! Join us and use our platform to leap in new directions. We don’t recognize boundaries or ranks; you don’t need formal credentials to join, just an open mind and a willingness to try new ideas.