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Handwork being a Co-Op might sound like a feel-good label, but what does it really mean to be an Artist Cooperative that is owned, operated, and staffed by its members? The history of cooperatives is rooted in a tradition that remains truly radical even today. They are in fact, a fundamental challenge to the status quo. The philosophical underpinnings of this self-governance structure stretch back centuries grounded in ideals of mutual aid, economic justice, true democratic participation, even anarchism emphasizing nonhierarchical structures. The story of cooperatives is one of people reclaiming their agency from systems of exploitation while building a new paradigm.
