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Ujima Wednesdays in July | Re/Structure: Transformation Through Cooperation

This July, we’re launching Re/Structure: Transformation Through Cooperation, a workshop series our workshop series on cooperative work and power building.


Transition, expansion (or contraction), and restructuring are all often necessary steps on collective journeys toward co-determination. This workshop series invites us to grapple with the tensions and possibilities at the heart of collective work. 


Our understanding of collective work and responsibility compels us to support community-led re-structuring in building up the solidarity economy. Along the way, tests of conflict or hardship forge cooperative practices by fire, kindling responsiveness and shaking up hierarchies. And, in response, we must practice re-granting legitimacy, for us and by us, to economic practices that are rooted in materiality and accountability, in ingenuity and resilience.


Through sessions led by local and international cooperative practitioners TazeBaez, Boston Center for Community Ownership, and Dorchester Art Project, we’ll explore the tensions and opportunities that emerge inside collective formations. Together, we’ll study how communities have navigated conflict, shared power, and reimagined structure.



Workshop Sessions

JULY 2 — Re/Generation: Youth Restructuring Power Through Cooperation | RSVP 

with Helena Gorroño of TazeBaez

Helena joins us from the Basque Country to share lessons from youth-led cooperative movements across Europe. A member of TazeBaez and the Young European Cooperators Network, Helena will share her work with TZBZ stabilising a stronger, young cooperators community in the Basque Country.


JULY 19 — The Spark of Something Bigger | RSVP 

with Robert Kelley-Morgan of  Dorchester Art Project

How do creative ideas become powerful movements? In this hands-on workshop, we’ll explore the power of creativity as a tool for transformation - not just of art, but of our communities and economies. Together, we’ll tap into foundational creative excercises and explore how imaginative thinking fuels cooperative practices and economic resilience. What does it mean to make art that brings us together? How does shared creative vision become shared power? Join DAP in discovering how artists can generate bold ideas and use their creativity to build power.


JULY 23 — Starting a Co-Op and Sustaining the Cooperative Journey | RSVP

Building a co-op is one thing. Keeping it going, through shifts, tensions, and daily decisions, is another. This session grounds us in the basics of cooperative formation and the long-term realities of collective work.


JULY 30 — Building the Vision | RSVP

with Stephen Lafume of Dorchester Art Project

What happens when artists reclaim the means of cultural production? In this story-sharing and strategy-based session, Dorchester Art Project reflects on its evolution from a traditional arts space into an artist-led cooperative. Learn why co-ops are critical for artist survival, how DAP is building collective infrastructure, and the ways in which art spaces can be incubators for solidarity economy principles.


About our facilitators:


Helena Gorroño:

Born in the year 2000 in the Basque Country, and having had the chance to develop herself in various international contexts, Helena has spent the past

decade taking action towards what she considers a fairer, safer, and more equal

society from a 'glocal' perspective. Her professional path stands out through her role in TZBZ S.Coop, where she leads projects in regional economic development and impact-driven education. Beyond her work, she views activism as a transversal part of life: she actively seeks learning opportunities in areas where she can contribute and regularly

participates in open civic processes where citizen decision-making is key.


Robert Kelley-Morgan

Robert Kelley-Morgan, a veteran talent manager hailing from Roxbury is CEO of PUTINWORK (an independent entertainment company) that services artists, creators, and businesses in Boston and beyond. According to Rob, “DAP will be able to service and elevate artists in Boston and beyond for a very long time with the right vision, execution, and management”. He currently lives in Dorchester.


Sadie Modi

Sadie Modi (she/her) is a Co-op Organizer for the Boston Center of Community Ownership; she graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a degree in Business Administration, and has a passion for community building and social entrepreneurship. She has worked as a financial consultant for the Center of Student Businesses by helping student-run coops on the UMass campus, and also served as a Community Director for a cancer prevention organization called Protect Our Breasts. Sadie is a first generation American raised in Lynn, MA with family from Sierra Leone and South Sudan.


Stephen Lafume

Stephen Lafume, is an advocate for community well-being and creative entrepreneurship, and has a multifaceted background that reflects a commitment to social impact and individual expression. Born and raised in Boston in a large Haitian family, Stephen learned the value of perseverance, interdependence, and joy from a young age. These core values were the catalyst for ventures into community organizing and entrepreneurship, platforms that have allowed Stephen to advocate for community betterment and combat violence on a broader scale. Whether through organizing community events or spearheading initiatives for social change, Stephen seeks to make a lasting impact by blending creativity with purpose.

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