Blog

I was quite young when the word "co-op" popped into my vocabulary. I first heard it in Peabody, Kansas, a tiny farming community on Highway 50 in central Kansas. Farmers would take their harvest to the "co-op" at the end of town. Here there were large grain elevators where grains were stored until they could be sold and shipped out of town. I always associated co-ops with farming and grain elevators and grain elevators with danger because you would suffocate if you accidentally fell in one. I did eventually learn that not all co-ops involved farming nor danger.

It wasn't until I moved west out of Kansas that I heard the term co-op associated with other things like food markets and ultimately came to understand that a credit union is also a co-op. And it was even years after that I learned that artist co-ops were a "thing."

"Co-op", of course, is short for cooperative. A cooperative is defined as a user-owned and controlled business from which benefits are derived and distributed equitably on the basis of use or as a business owned and controlled by the people who use its services. (USDA Rural Development, rd.rsda.gov) A cooperative business is typically incorporated under state law and legally accountable to its membership in various ways. While doing online research, I discovered that Utah law regarding cooperative businesses is pretty specific and complex with many laws designed to protect members. I will spare you the headache-generating details, but if you have a day or so to spare, you can read all about cooperative businesses in your state code online.

One of the earliest cooperative businesses in the U. S. was the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers' Society, a group of individual craftsman who came together in 1844. The original group was comprised of 28 people ranging from flannel weavers to shoemakers. They were able to purchase supplies and goods cooperatively and thus save money as craftspeople while providing essential services to their community. 

The objective in a co-op is to generate sufficient operating income to meet operational needs and, at the end of each year, have surpluses to return to the members or, alternatively, to invest in further improving the business. At the core of every cooperative is "one member, one vote" and democratic member control of all decisions made by the organization.

In a gallery setting, it's easy to understand. The 35 or so artists shown at Gallery Moab could certainly not afford to independently open galleries on Main Street Moab. But as a collective, many artists have a place to show and sell their work. Studio co-ops are also pretty common throughout the U.S. Renting studio space on one's own is often financially prohibitive. A potter, for example, may not be able to afford to purchase a kiln, wheel and selection of glazes or have a studio in which to work. In that way, too, co-ops provide opportunity for more community and fellowship in the arts and allow an individual working artist to become less isolated.

The business model of artist co-op galleries varies widely across the nation. Most co-ops, like Gallery Moab, charge membership fees and/or rent space and additionally require artists to work in the gallery a specified number of days a month. This saves the business from having to hire full time workers and also has the added benefit of allowing customers to meet artists and for artists to meet their potential customers. It's really a point of joy from both perspectives as customers love to talk to the artists whose work they are buying and artists love to talk about their work! Once a piece is sold, artists contribute a set amount of commission from sales back to the cooperative business and keep a greater portion of the proceeds for themselves. The commission paid by the artist also varies widely across the country. This collection of artists works together to make decisions regarding the operation of the shared gallery space with the ultimate goal of making it more successful collectively as a business and individually as artists.

Gallery Moab was founded by a handful of artists in 2014 in a small space on Main Street Moab. In 2020 at the very time the coronavirus broke out in the U.S., Gallery Moab moved from its tiny home on Main Street to a larger, more elegant space just down the road. It was a terrifying move even without the unknowns of a pandemic breathing down our necks. Members held their collective breaths through the lockdown when Moab streets were absolutely bare of traffic and the whole town felt like a ghost town. It was a fearful time for members who had just taken a big step forward toward growth and development as a professional gallery. Like many businesses, Gallery Moab's doors were often closed during 2020, but by the fall and throughout 2021, the membership was breathing a sigh of relief as visitors returned to Moab and embraced the newly expanded gallery.

Today Moab's local artist co-op is a vibrant, busy spot hosting art walks and receptions for guest and featured artists.Buying art from a cooperative gallery is a sure-fire way to meet and support local artists, too. With nearly 40 artists to choose from, there is so much diversity in style and medium in Gallery Moab that it is nearly impossible not to find a piece that calls to you for your collection. Art is one purchase that not only brings emotional satisfaction for years to come (if not a lifetime) but also appreciates in value. Your heart and home will be happy.

And now you know the connection between wheat farmers and artists!

"When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization. " Daniel Webster