The formation of Imaginary Friends Art Cooperative is a response to the increasing commercialization of the relationship between the artist and their ability to survive off the fruits of their practice. In thinking about attempting to be artists, the founding members have observed that they will inevitably become ensnared by the companies and organizations that are meant to represent artists. Rather than artist and creation focused enterprises, these companies parade their artists around on social media for the expectation of an ROI and take control of the details of how their work is presented. We recognize that as many of our predecessors have noted, the only thing we have as artists is our freedom. In understanding that the contemporary situation of the artist is destined towards the loss of this freedom, we hope to return control of the organization they inhabit to the artists and in turn, guarantee autonomy over themselves and their craft.

 

Imaginary Friends was created with the vision that artists, being the most imaginative among us in their disposition, could come together as a unit to create something larger than themselves and entirely novel. We asked the question, could we direct our behavior not by what would bring the largest profit, but what would allow ourselves and as many people as possible to create openly and freely? Can we reject the foregone conclusion of our day that the only thing that motivates people is the amassing of wealth? Could we resist the idea that the only way to exist is that of a rugged individual alienated from his purpose and product? We believe, contrary to much of the present ideology of our time, that alternative ways of being in the world are possible. It is not only the opportunity but the responsibility of artists to provide empirical evidence of the possibility of such an existence. We hope to revolutionize the way in which individuals can collaborate to bring about a shared mission, ours' being the pursuit of free and unique artistry.

 

To achieve this revolutionary form of organization, we hope to bring the unique cooperative organizational structure to Imaginary Friends. Rather than being subject to the whim of owners who control their product, we want artists themselves to be the owners of the organization that supports their careers. It will take the collective spirits of our artist and co-owners to decide the direction and allocation of the value product created by the company of members. In this way, we will be challenging the traditional notion of economic production and allocation between owner and worker.

 

After two recessions and a deadly pandemic that have left workers worse off than ever, and capital correspondingly stronger, we additionally hope to further the progress of other organizations that are fighting to better the plight of workers in our precarious moment. Imaginary Friends is our contribution to the resistance against the injustice of the capitalist system and the horrors it continually brings upon the average person.

 

We feel that the world is in an extremely desperate place. We will show others that feel the same that a more just, more beautiful world is possible and inevitable.