Mission.
Cooperation Racine, LWCA is a Limited Worker Cooperative Association rooted in West Englewood, Chicago.
As a team of artists, fabricators, designers, photographers, musicians, poets, and sculptors, we share the belief that through Cooperative Economics we can rewrite a history of redlining, divestment, and violence that has left Black and Brown communities devoid of opportunity and prosperity.
We seek to develop resilient, creative Black and Brown entrepreneurs who can pivot and thrive in uncertain health and financial environments. Our work is rooted in reimagining the role of arts workers, artists, and the art center in the broader arts ecosystem.
Vision.
Tackling systemic barriers in the arts sector is a key part of addressing the racial and wealth gaps in Englewood. Rooted in cooperative economic traditions, regenerative economy values, and sustainable development principles, we advance “Cooperative Creative Economies.”
Cooperative Creative Economies emerge from a comprehensive reimagining of the arts ecosystem as an equitable and inclusive space to pool resources, strengthen artistic and business skills, and expand professional networks, particularly for queer Black women and femmes, non-binary folx, disabled individuals, and multigenerational families.
Cooperation Racine is committed to community partnerships that center the arts and its potential to build intergenerational wealth, while celebrating the storied creative history and emerging talent in Englewood, and reinvesting in Chicago’s Cooperative community.
Values.
Rebuilding and reshaping systems requires Deep Relationship-Building with the communities most impacted.
Joy is at the Core of our community care work. We prioritize self-exploration, intergenerational healing, and growth.
Grounded in the history of Black Cooperative Traditions, Transparency and Accountability are essential to confronting and interrupting anti-Black racism and capitalist frameworks.
Imaginative Activation, Cultivation, and Innovation of spaces that were abandoned, forced barren, and deemed to have no utility.
In early 2023, in ℅: black women convened 40 artists to propose creating an artist cooperative. A core group of artists embarked on a journey of cooperative culture education to better understand how cooperatives operate.
With mentoring and support from co-op developers and fellow worker cooperatives in Chicago’s Community Wealth-Building Ecosystem, Cooperation Racine established itself as a Limited Worker Cooperative Association in 2024.