Arts Directory
Glossary
Here’s a Glossary to help orient you to the terms we use in our Directory to map cultural efforts in the Solidarity Economy.
The Solidarity Economy is recognized internationally as a way to value people and the planet over profits and to unite grassroots practices like timebanking, credit unions, worker cooperatives, and community land trusts. While practices of equitable and sustainable self-determination and community-control are rooted in Indigenous, Black, and People of Color ancestry, the term “Solidarity Economy” is relatively new. The term emerged in Chile and France in the 1980s, gained popularity in Latin America (as “economia solidária”) in the 1990s, and spread globally as an interdependent movement after the first annual World Social Forum in Brazil in 2001, which popularized the slogan “another world is possible.” Art.coop belongs to the Solidarity Economy movement and believes that there’s no one right way, no single solution — we each have to find our path forward. When we name what we are doing as part of the Solidarity Economy movement, we can connect with other people across housing, land, food, and work, and form a base of political power.
If any terms, definitions, or uses are ambiguous, write to info@art.coop; we’re here to make this as accessible as possible. If you’re looking for a specific term, use your browser’s tab search to locate its definition.
Please note: in our original report, we tracked groups based on their members’ identities, including by marking groups that were majority led by people of color and/or queer and trans people. Given the current political landscape, we are not tracking this information any longer.
All of our definitions are grounded in the work of community partners (including Tania Aparicio Morales, Arden Armbruster, Annie Bares, Gonzalo Casals, Noemi Giszpenc, Jamie Hand, Anh-Thu Nguyen, Camila Tapia, NYC Arts Researcher Meetup, US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, and Data Commons Cooperative) and the thought partnership of initial collaborators, Dre Jacome, Vijay Mathew, Oona Eager, Caroline Woolard, and Or Zubalsky, from and with whom this Directory’s language and framings find life.
We use the following categories to organize our cultural efforts: stewards, structuring, creative medium, offering, practices, model, legal incorporation, and geographic information.
Stewards
We use the classification Stewards to talk about who belongs to these cultural efforts, as owners and/or leaders.
Worker OwnersMembers derive their salary and/or benefits from the cultural effort, uphold it as a democratic workplace, participate in its day-to-day profit and oversight management, and co-own it. *With cooperatives, workers must own the cooperative to be categorized as a worker-cooperative.
Worker LeadersMembers derive their salary and/or benefits from the cultural effort and uphold it as a democratic workplace, but do not have any ownership stakes.
*With non-profits, workers must self-determine their work to be categorized as a worker-self-directed non-profit.
MembersPeople who are involved in the cultural effort, including those who do not own the effort but use it to uplift their work, share space and/or resources, and have influence on its operations. *We use this term when other terms do not apply. *Most cooperatives do not use this term.
Multi-Stakeholder CommunityA variety of members across more than one type of membership class, such as consumers, producers, workers, and/or community supporters, who are involved in the cultural effort and receive pay, and/or use the effort to provide and/or receive goods and/or services.
ConsumersMembers who use the cooperative to purchase the goods and/or services they need. *Limited to cooperatives
VolunteersMembers who donate their time, labor, and/or resources to sustain a cultural effort.
Structuring
We use the classification structuring to indicate which cultural efforts are owned, fully or partially, by their members.
Owned ByMeans members have a financial stake and are stakeholders in the cultural effort.
Creative Medium
We have adapted our definitions from Creatives Rebuild NY to also include Solidarity Economy members who provide arts administration and/or work with commercial vendors. We use the classification medium to talk about what kinds of culture efforts are creating.
ArchitectureIncludes architects, construction specialists, and landscapers working to create spaces.
Arts OperationsIncludes administrators, exhibition installers, cleaners, and other institutional personnel who make arts and culture possible.
CraftIncludes artists working in wood, ceramics, glass, jewelry, metalworking, textiles – fiber, weaving, and quilting, and body adornment (tattooing and cosmetology).
Culinary ArtsIncludes artists, culture bearers, and culture makers whose work explores herbal and food traditions, including the processes of farming, cooking, harvesting, and plant-based healing.
Cultural OrganizingIncludes artists, culture bearers, and culture makers using art and culture to advance a specific political, social, and popular goal.
DanceIncludes dancers, choreographers, and producers working in a variety of genres such as ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, aerial, and modern
DesignIncludes designers working in the fields of fashion, graphic, object, game, and industrial design.
Digital ArtsIncludes artists, culture bearers, and culture makers working at the intersection of technology, aesthetics, storytelling, and digital cultures.
Film & MediaIncludes artists, actors, directors, creative producers, and others working in a variety of genres, such as animation, fiction, documentary, episodic, experimental, and narrative.
Healing ArtsIncludes artists, culture bearers, culture makers, and healers who perform body work and provide medicinal and herbal support.
Interdisciplinary ArtsIncludes artists, culture bearers, and culture makers who use an interdisciplinary approach involving more than one artistic discipline
Journalism & LiteratureIncludes writers who work in genres such as journalism, fiction, nonfiction, short story writing, memoir, screenwriting, poetry, comedy, children’s literature, and graphic novel.
Language & Oral TraditionsIncludes artists, culture bearers, and culture makers whose knowledge, art, ideas, and intangible cultural material received, preserved, and transmitted from one generation to another through speech or song; may include folktales, ballads, chants, prose or verses, and storytelling.
Music & SoundIncludes singers, musicians, composers, producers (those who create the sound and feel of the recording), DJs, and live sound designers working in a variety of genres such as hip hop, jazz, rock, pop, country, and classical.
Performance ArtIncludes artists, culture bearers, and culture makers whose work is created through actions performed by the artist or other participants, which may be live or recorded, spontaneous or scripted, tactical and site performance.
Social PracticeIncludes socially engaged and civically engaged artists, culture bearers, and culture makers whose art involves people and communities in debate, collaboration, or social interaction and work wherein artists partner with communities toward community development outcomes.
Theater ArtsIncludes actors and actresses, directors, playwrights, costume designers, stage designers, and lighting designers in a variety of genres such as experimental, live action, puppetry, opera, and musical theater.
Traditional ArtsIncludes artists, culture bearers, and culture makers whose work is rooted in and reflective of the tradition and/or cultural heritage of a community, transmitted from generation to generation such as dance, music, crafts, storytelling, foodways.
Visual ArtsIncludes artists, culture bearers, and culture makers whose arts practice is installation, illustration, painting, drawing, collage, printmaking, photography, sculpture, video art, or public art.
Offering
We use the classification offering to talk about what efforts bring to the communities they work with and for, including services, products, and gifts.
Accounting & BookkeepingSupport building and managing financial systems, for free, barter, or purchase.
Advocacy SupportSupport uplifting political campaigns, for free, barter, or purchase.
Cooperative & Team DevelopmentSupport developing cooperative and team management infrastructures and systems, for free, barter, or purchase.
Construction & FabricationSupport building physical structures, for free, barter, or purchase.
Design ServicesSupport designing digital or physical objects, for free, barter, or purchase.
Fiscal SponsorshopExtending 501(c)3 tax-exempt status and/or other support to partners and organizations, who sometimes pay a fee.
Event PlanningSupport developing, hosting, and wrapping up in-person or online events, for free, barter, or purchase.
Housing & Residential ServicesSupport finding housing and homes for artists, for free, barter, or purchase.
Legal SupportSupport approaching the legal system, primarily for incorporation, taxes, and by-laws, for free, barter, or purchase.
Marketing & Distribution Services or PlatformSupport amplifying and/or sharing physical and immaterial resources, including products and events, for free, barter, or purchase.
Material SourcingSupport locating values-aligned materials, for free, barter, or purchase.
Photography & Videography ServicesSupport with documenting, including events and films, for free, barter, or purchase.
Printing ServicesSupport printing materials, for free, barter, or purchase.
Space (Exhibition, Gallery, Venue & Store)Support with a space for display or sales, for free, barter, or purchase.
Space (Social)Support with a space for social gatherings, for free, barter, or purchase.
Space (Studio)Support with a space for creating art, for free, barter, or purchase.
Space (Swapping, Trading & Bartering)Support for a space to swap, trade, or barter in, for free or barter.
Tool & Material RentalSupport using and/or borrowing tools and materials for creating art, for free, barter, or purchase.
Teaching & LearningSupport developing and implementing curriculum, for free, barter, or purchase.
Technology ServicesSupport with technology, including servers, social media accounts, websites, and more, for free, barter, or purchase.
Wellness & HealingSupport with health and wellness needs, for free, barter, or purchase.
Writing & Editing ServicesSupport with written works, for free, barter, or purchase.
Practices
We use the classification practices to talk about how efforts are embodying the Solidarity Economy in their day-to-day operations.
Mutual AidHorizontal, circular, and/or reciprocal redistribution of materials and resources with, for, and in a community.
Democratic Decision-MakingGovernance styles in which all members’ make decisions based on majority votes.
Sliding ScalePay-what-you-can options for offerings.
Study GroupsIndependently organized (as in, not affiliated with a degree or university) collective engagements with texts.
Skill or Knowledge SharesHorizontal, circular, and/or reciprocal redistribution of knowledge with, for, and in a community.
BarteringNon-monetary exchange of resources with, for, and in a community.
TimebankingNon-monetary exchange of time and labor with, for, and in a community.
UpcyclingTransformation of discarded materials into new resources.
Political EducationEducational offerings (including leadership development) that contextualize political and economic systems of power, and the ways to resist them.
Popular EducationParticipatory educational offerings that address a variety of topics.
Regenerative SourcingFinding and prioritizing materials and resources that actively heal our planet.
Peer NetworksHorizontal and collaborative gatherings of aligned people and efforts to advance a specific goal or campaign and/or exchange skills and resources.
Transparent Decision-MakingSharing decisions made by the membership with the community at large.
Transparent BudgetingSharing financial information with the community at large.
DivestmentWithdrawing investments and capital from extractive and harmful industries and economies, including fossil fuels and military.
UnionizingBuilding worker power with union representation, with and without worker ownership.
Open SourceSharing and developing software and knowledge collaboratively.
Non-Extractive FinancingProviding financial support, including loans and banking, without enforcing or criminalizing debt.
Profit SharingDemocratically distributing surplus earnings (profits) back to members, often based on their usage or labor.
Sweat EquityAn investment of labor, often unpaid and sometimes donated, to receive access to a cultural effort’s offerings.
Resource SharingDistributing, lending, or exchanging materials, services, space, or technology amongst many to maximize access and reduce individual costs.
Collective PurchasingBuying goods and services as a collective to maximize access and reduce individual costs.
Model
We use the classification model to talk about how an effort is structured. Some of our definitions are from the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, ICA Group, UW Center for Cooperatives, Sustainable Economies Law Center, and others are our own.
CoalitionA formalized or informalized network of cultural efforts in the Solidarity Economy that works towards a shared goal.
CollectiveAn informal, horizontally-organized group, generally run by volunteers.
Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)A certified financial institution that provides lending, borrowing, and investment support to a community, including credit unions and loan funds.
Community Land TrustNonprofit organizations that treat land as a public good. CLTs own and steward the land to ensure it is used in ways that benefit the community.
ConversionA conventional business in the process of transitioning into a cooperative.
CooperativeA business that is owned and democratically run to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs.
Funding InitiativeA non-cultural effort that funds cultural efforts.
GuildA cultural effort formed by independent artists and cultural workers, including contractors, consultants, freelancers, and gig-workers, to advance workers’ rights in their areas.
Membership NetworkA formalized network of cultural efforts each of whom pay dues, to strengthen their work.
Non-Profit OrganizationAny organization that is registered legally as a non-profit, does not receive profit from selling products or services and relies solely or mostly on grants and donations.
Worker Self-Directed Non-ProfitA non-profit organization in which all workers have the power to influence the programs in which they work, the conditions of their workplace, their own career paths, and the direction of the organization as a whole.
Platform CooperativeBusiness that sells goods or services primarily through a website and/or mobile app.
UnionA cultural effort formed by employees, including full time and part time employees, to advance workers’ rights in their areas.
Susu or Savings PoolHorizontal, circular, and/or reciprocal rotating savings collection with, for, and in a community.
StartupA group in the process of creating a cooperative or democratic workplace, or those that have been operational for less than one year.
Legal Incorporation(s)
We use the classification legal structure to talk about how a group is (or isn’t!) legally incorporated. Some of our definitions are from the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives, others are from the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI), while still others are our own.
Non-Profit - 501(c)3An incorporation status for cultural efforts that provide charitable services and only participates in insubstantial lobbying.
Non-Profit - 501(c)4An incorporation status for cultural efforts that promote social welfare and can participate in unlimited lobbying.
Non-Profit - 501(c)6An incorporation status for cultural efforts that represent dues-paying members as leagues, chambers, and boards and can participate in unlimited lobbying.
Non-Profit - UnionAn incorporation status for cultural efforts that advocate for improved labor conditions for worker-members, often collecting dues and providing benefits.
Fiscally-Sponsored Cultural EffortA status for cultural efforts that receive fiscal sponsorship from an existing non-profit organization for tax-exempt status and/or other support.
C-CorporationAn incorporation status for cultural efforts that are a separate legal entity, and taxed separately, from their members.
S-CorporationAn incorporation status for cultural efforts that are a separate legal entity from their owners, but pass their income and losses to members for federal tax purposes.
Cooperative CorporationAn incorporation status for cultural efforts from a select 23 states, which have statutes to enable businesses to incorporate as cooperatives.
Limited Liability Company (LLC)An incorporation status for cultural efforts that provides limited liability to its members but has the flexibility to operate like a general partnership.
Benefit Corporation or Public Benefit CorporationAn incorporation status for cultural efforts that identify as socially conscious businesses, allowing them to maintain a corporation tax status with the additional protections related to their social purpose.
Limited Cooperative Association (LCA)A hybrid of a traditional cooperative and a limited liability company, allowing multiple classes of membership, patron members, and investor members.
Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)A type of general partnership where every partner has a limited personal liability for the debts of the partnership.
Community Interest CompanyA corporate structure designed for social enterprises that use their profits and assets for public benefit, limited to the United Kingdom (UK).
Geographic Information
We track efforts’ geographic information on a series of different levels.
With efforts that have a designated address or physical location that fits within U.S. state borders or holds, we use their street address, city, state, and/or territory as available. We use these definitions to both understand U.S. state borders as colonial impositions on stolen lands and to include a popular way that maps and geography are approached.
With efforts that work across areas, we use the classification region to talk about how their community is bioregionally oriented.
- For efforts who define their geographic reach using U.S. states or territories, we follow U.S. state and territory borders.
- For efforts who define their geographic reach using tribal lands, we follow tribal borders per Native-Land. These regions are marked by the name of the Indigenous people who originally and currently inhabit the lands, and as much as possible, by their names for these lands. For example, the lands of the Lenni Lenape people are named both as Lenapehoking and Lands of the Lenni Lenape in our Directory.
- Northeast Region: bordered inland by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York.
- Midwestern Region: bordered inland by North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
- Southern Region: bordered inland by Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.
- Western Region: bordered inland by Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, and including Alaska and Hawai’i.
- Caribbean Territories and Pacific Ocean Territories: including Puerto Rico and Guam.
- International: working beyond the U.S.
- National: working across the U.S., continental or inclusive of territories.