Co-ops can be wonderful outlets for artists, especially those who are looking for galleries to show their work when they are not established enough to be in a privately owned gallery or museum. So what is a Co-op, you ask?
A Co-op is a group that comes together for a purpose. In the art sense, it’s a group of artists that join together to provide a workable gallery or studio for artists to show or perform their work. By joining together, many Co-ops provide opportunities many couldn’t do by themselves, like owning a gallery for instance. Co-ops can come in and negotiate using the power of the group to provide affordable opportunities.
Some Co-ops charge those who join a monthly fee, some charge a yearly fee and require those artists to donate their time to help offset operation costs. Some don’t charge at all, but rely on networking to expand their reach and services.
These organizations can be quite a blessing for artists, however, Co-ops are best if they are run correctly. The main problems that Co-ops face are the ever present politics and cliques.
Since these Co-ops operate with a board of directors, you will have some politics present. Everyone will have a say into how this should run. Like some government politicians, they tend to make their time in office a life long career, and even after they leave office they still have a lot to say on how things are run. If people do not listen to them, they will sometimes try to make a lot of trouble for the group. Unfortunately the ones it hurts the most, are the ones who are simply involved to show their work and want nothing to do with the politics of it.
Politics and egos go hand in hand. Sometimes you will see particular artists try to befriend someone at the top in order to receive perks, kind of like D.C. lobbyists. This can cause a lot of animosity among the others in the group, especially if that person gets their way more often then not.
Being apart of a Co-op I also saw cliques take shape. These are groups of individuals in the Co-op that feel their work is far superior to the rest. They criticize the others and are quick to judge. When these people take over and volunteer for the day, they tend to not be neutral, and push their work and the work of their friends. In some cases they talk down about the work they feel is sub par.
This kind of behavior hurts Co-ops probably more than politics do. The reason is, by trashing other’s work or ignoring it all together, the Co-op fails that artist. That artist could be paying a fee to be in the group or taking time away from something that could financially benefit them to work the gallery to help offset costs. If these people don’t sell their work, it soon could become a financial burden and they leave.
Lack of members with the inability to recruit new members hurts Co-ops because their income does not come from art commissions, in most cases, but from monthly dues and volunteering. Without volunteers, they are forced to hire people to work the gallery, which takes away from the financial power to advertise and sponsor events.
If Co-ops keep politics to a minimum, and axe cliques before they become a problem, artists will find Co-ops to be a great way to get their work on display, grow their resumes, sell their work for extra income and learn from other artists who have the same goals.
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