E.2 Challenges faced

However it is worth considering here the challenges faced by AC in terms of self-organization in the ecosystem.

Indeed time and resources are not infinite and can put a strain on the already overworked member organizations. Additionally, geographical distance remains a concrete obstacle when addressing issues that require immediate attention.

While there is no single solution to these practical but complex challenges, especially if we are to balance the aspirations of dissolving centralized power while at the same time maintaining trust and caring for each other, a structure/scheme was developed after the working group session in Utrecht and the Kyrgyzstan Assembly. It is being practiced at the moment and will keep on being refined and fed by our radical imagination.

We are also still working at optimizing the use of technology and the online platform of AC (again not without its own limitation due to the discrepancy of internet access in the different regions) and to work with triangles and regional study groups.

Another challenge awaiting Arts Collaboratory is the choice of its legal status, that might determine the reach of its future operations (in terms of fundraising, money distribution, etc.) It is still an unresolved issue that will need further discussion and debate. To this date, the following have been undertaken:

Before the Kyrgyzstan Assembly a temporary working group, SOLE (Self-organization and Legal Entity), later transformed into Legal Entity, was constituted to research the options available to legally establish Arts Collaboratory as an autonomous entity that could be co-owned by all the members. The group consisted of VANSA, Crater Invertido, Casco and DOEN and hired an external consultant, Alejandra Montiel. The outcome of their research was presented during the assembly (see appendix).

The option to merge all the organisations together quickly appeared technically unfeasible. It was also rejected during the Assembly, the members reacted strongly against merging into one entity all together and not retaining their individuality.

The option to create a new entity all-together also seemed entrenched in technical difficulties although not impossible, worries about costs and administration remain at the center of the debate.

Finally, the preferred option given by the external consultant was a “non-legal” approach, using the model of the European Union as a precedent. She proposed that the Arts Collaboratory be considered as a union with a constitutive document and administrative procedures organs.

The discussions that ensued during the Assembly were animated and the second option was discussed at length with concrete possibilities, i.e: creating a holding or a trust. However, objections were raised against both options on the grounds of ethics, inclusivity, reproduction of colonialism/ western hierarchies. It was agreed to continue the research through the Legal Entity working group.