Shared Visions

On the 28th of April 2025, during the kick-off of the Shared Visions project in Belgrade, the consortium discussed the co-operative’s by-laws. Joana de Ló, who participates in the research on behalf of KickVoidLoop, wrote a comprehensive report – outlining challenges for the years to come.

Contemporary cooperatives emerged within the workers' movement of the 19th century, as a response to the intensified exploitation brought about by the rapid industrialisation of the means of production. In 1844, in the English town of Rochdale, a group of 28 textile workers founded the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, establishing a small community-run shop that sold essential goods at fair prices, at a time when inflation, low wages, and unemployment shaped the daily lives of the working class.

This founding experience was not merely an economic solution — it was, above all, an ethical and political proposition. The principles they adopted — voluntary and open membership, democratic control, equitable distribution of surplus, autonomy, education, cooperation, and concern for the community — laid the groundwork for a coherent alternative to the dominant capitalist system.

Since then, cooperativism has asserted itself as an economic model, many times politically neutral, but coming from a rich history of resistance to hegemonic economic structures, promoting practices based on solidarity, self-management, and the valorisation of collective labour. This tradition has expanded across various sectors, now encompassed by what is broadly referred to as the Social Economy or Solidarity Economy, and has proven relevant in cultural and artistic practices also. In times of crisis, repression, or instability, artists have often turned to the cooperative model as a viable structure for organisation, sustainability, and mutual support. One of these initiatives was the Cooperativa Cinema Indipendente (CCI), founded in Naples, Italy, in 1967 and later moved to Rome.

The CCI was created with the purpose of bringing together Italian filmmakers and facilitating the distribution of experimental and underground films, explicitly inspired by models such as the Film‑Makers’ Cooperative of New York. By offering a cooperative structure for self-production, distribution, and mutual support, it played a pioneering role in helping filmmakers overcome barriers related to funding and access to distribution.

The proposal of the “SHARED VISIONS – Cultural Artists’ Cooperative” firmly situates itself within this genealogy of civic institution-building. The cooperative presents itself as a transnational, intergenerational, and solidarity-based artistic project, seeking to collectively address the structural precarity that affects the cultural sector in the Balkans and beyond. By reclaiming the founding principles of cooperativism, this initiative aims to re-establish collective structures as tools for social transformation.

It is essential that SHARED VISIONS’ internal statute is not treated as a mere legal formality, but rather as a living, structuring document that clearly expresses the seven principles of the International Cooperative Alliance. These principles are not declarative — they actively guide the ways in which members join, participate, deliberate, and share responsibility for the life of cooperatives worldwide.

They were read aloud through the first online sessions launching the Bylaws discussion, and fully adressed in Belgrade, on the 28 of April — the fourth day of the “Shared Visions” kick-off meeting — revealing a surprising convergence among an audience not always prone to easily being contended.

○ 1st principle: 1st Principle: Voluntary and Open Membership

The importance of voluntary, but informed, membership was highlighted, with proposals for a gradual entry process including a training and mentorship period. A “bicameral” model was proposed, involving a Membership Committee and the right to appeal to the General Assembly, ensuring that each new member understands the cooperative's values and commits actively to its practice.

○ 2nd Principle: Democratic Member Control

Deliberative participation was seen not merely as a formal right but as an ongoing, demanding process grounded in transparency and accessibility. Democratic control of the cooperative through it’s assembly is paramount.

○ 3rd Principle: Member Economic Participation

The issue of surplus management is a touchstone specificity of cooperative management, since there is no profit to distribute, and the allocation either of interests or of deficits is a common responsibility, and an important vehicle for it’s development.  This discussion gave rise to a rich and nuanced debate, shaped by two complementary positions. On one side, there was a call for clear minimum percentages to be established in the statute for reserves and reinvestment, safeguarding sustainability and protecting collective resources from private appropriation. On the other, concerns were raised about the risks of over-regulation, which could undermine the Assembly’s autonomy and its ability to adapt to the cooperative’s evolving needs. This tension between structure and flexibility was a constant throughout the sessions.

Reserves, in this context, were not merely seen as a legal obligation but as a political and strategic tool. Their role goes beyond financial safety — they express a collective commitment. Four main areas of allocation were identified: statutory and legal reserves; investment in continuous education and skills development; improvement of working conditions through equipment, space or production tools; and support for inter-cooperative solidarity. Although the redistribution of part of the surplus among members was mentioned, it was agreed that such a measure should only occur once collective priorities are met, and always based on actual participation — never on capital return.

○ 4th Principle: Autonomy and Independence

The autonomy of the cooperative was reaffirmed as a non-negotiable principle — not only economic, but also political. Several contributions warned against the dangers of dependence on conditional funding or institutional logic that could dilute cooperative practice. One intervention stood out, asserting that real autonomy requires ideological clarity: the cooperative must position itself as part of a broader movement that recognises artists as cultural workers. This identity is not decorative — it gives political coherence to the cooperative’s economic structure.

○ 5th Principle: Education, Training and Information

The centrality of cooperative education was strongly emphasised. Training must be ongoing and multifaceted, encompassing both technical skills — such as financial management — and political-historical understanding of cooperativism and cultural rights. The goal is to ensure that no one is excluded from meaningful participation due to language barriers or unequal access to knowledge.

○ 6th Principle: Co-operation among Co-operatives

The sixth cooperative principle  holds particular strategic relevance in the contemporary context, as it goes beyond the economic dimension to stand as a practice of internationalism and the building of collective power. By fostering exchanges of labour, goods, services, and knowledge, cooperatives not only strengthen the cooperative economy by creating autonomous circuits of production and distribution but also reinforce the movement itself, building networks of solidarity that transcend national borders and contexts. This intercooperation thus becomes a tool of resistance to the isolating dynamics of the liberal markets, allowing collective strength to prevail over competitive logic.

In the Balkans collaboration between cooperatives also has a decisive political dimension: by forming strategic alliances and common platforms, these organisations gain influence with policymakers, actively contributing to the development of legislation that is more favourable to the sector, while strengthening workers’ rights and the legitimacy of the cooperative model. In this sense, cooperation among cooperatives is not merely an ethical principle but a strategic imperative to consolidate a solidarity-based economy and a movement with its own voice, capable of asserting itself as a viable and sustainable alternative.

○ 7th Principle: Concern for Community

It was also widely recognised that a cultural cooperative cannot exist in isolation. SHARED VISIONS must operate in a network, share resources, engage with its surrounding artists communities, and act as a transformative cultural agent. Its internal structure must reflect this mission: it must be, at once, a tool of self-organisation and a space for collective imagination — building a cultural economy that is cooperative, solidaristic, and shared.

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