Update on Infoshops

Sunday, February 01 2009 @ 12:24 AM UTC

Contributed by: Admin

If you want to talk about real hope and change, check out the growing decentralized network of anti-profit community spaces around the world. Just since we printed the 2009 organizer, we’ve heard about a whole bunch of new spaces. Each of these spaces is the culmination of community, engagement, and a vision of a different way for people to relate to each other -- pursuing cooperation and mutual aid, not just profit. Let us know if you have suggestions of other spaces and check-out updates to our radical contact list on-line at slingshot.tao.ca. Update on Infoshops

Compiled by PB Floyd
Slingshot #99 (Berkeley, California)

If you want to talk about real hope and change, check out the growing decentralized network of
anti-profit community spaces around the world. Just since we printed the 2009 organizer, we’ve
heard about a whole bunch of new spaces. Each of these spaces is the culmination of community,
engagement, and a vision of a different way for people to relate to each other -- pursuing
cooperation and mutual aid, not just profit. Let us know if you have suggestions of other spaces and
check-out updates to our radical contact list on-line at slingshot.tao.ca.

SubRosa Infoshop - Santa Cruz, CA

Folks have opened an all-volunteer, collectively operated community space for art and radical
projects next to the bike church in Santa Cruz. It features a lending library, zine and book shop, cafe
with cheap coffee, art gallery, gardens and performance space. They transformed their parking lot
into a garden courtyard with seating. The space hosts monthly art shows, Free Skool classes and a
weekly Open Mic on Thursdays at 8pm. Open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. M-F and 10 - 8 Sat/Sun. 703 Pacific
Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831-426-5242, subrosaproject.org

Treasure City Thrift - Austin, TX

They are a volunteer/collectively run extra-cheap, anti-capitalist thrift store, infoshop, free store and
reuse center. They direct money to a long and exciting list of grassroots organizations. They also
host a community bike shop and various experiments in alternative economics. Open Mon- Sat, 11 -
6. Visit them at 1720 E 12th St. Austin, TX 78702 (512)524-2820 www.treasurecitythrift.org

The Real School (A.K.A. Dragon Valley) - Houston, TX

A school run by a collective of anarchists and other de-schoolers. 1525 East 32nd 1/2 St, Houston
Texas 77022 832-767-0404 www.therealschoolhouston.org

Blast-O-Mat - Denver, CO

They are a collective show space, art gallery, and record store that hosts sliding scale shows and
other events. Check them out at 2935 W 7th Ave Denver, CO 80204 (831)-331-1272

Biko Co-op – Isla Vista, CA

An activist house with some free literature. 6612 Sueno Road, Isla Vista, CA 93117 858-722-8768

Lichen Spiritual Archives - Chicago, IL

They have a lending library, zine distro and archive, wireless internet and radical community space
for hosting meetings and workshops. They currently have weekly meals Sunday and Monday and
free food pick up at other times. They have Spanish as a second language, a study group and
meetings on radical mental health and police accountability. Open Fri- Sun 11-7, Mon 6-10 and
Tues 11 – 7. 1921 S Blue Island, Chicago (mailing address PO BOX 08378, Chicago, IL, 60608.)
pilsenradicalspace@riseup.net

George Street Co-op - New Brunswick, NJ

They are a vegetarian natural food co-op with a small free literature section. They saw the cover art
on the 2009 organizer and thought it was funny because they have a carrot on the front of their
store and are across the street from a library, just like the food coop in the drawing. Open 10-8
Mon-Fri, 8-7 Sat and 10-6 Sun. 89 Morris Street New Brunswick, NJ 08901 732.247.8280

Mississippi Market - St. Paul, MN

A food co-op with two locations that you can check out: 1810 Randolph Ave. Saint Paul, MN
55105 651-690-0507 and 622 Selby Ave. Saint Paul, MN 55104

Peace Action and Education Center of Eastern Iowa - Iowa City, IA

They have meeting, office and event space for peace groups. 26 E. Market Street, Iowa City, IA
52245 319 354-1925 peaceiowa.org

Birdhouse Collective - Buffalo, NY

A house that hosts shows and do-it-yourself activities. No regular hours. 92 Bird St. Buffalo, NY
14202 716-884-2797

ReBelle - Lexington, KY

A boutique store with some eco products, etc. 371 S. Limestone St. Lexington, KY 40508 859-389
-9750 www.ReBelleGirls.com

Gulf of Maine Books - Brunswick, Maine

They are a 30 year old independent alternative bookstore. 134 Maine Street, Brunswick, Maine
04011

Casa T.I.A.O. - Valparaiso, Chile

Which stands for Trabajadores Independientes de Artes y Oficios (Independent Art and Trade
Workers). It is a casa okupa (occupied house) i.e. squat with a rehearsal/training space for various
classes: trapeze, acrobatics, capoeira, African dance, screenprinting, wood-block printing, etc. 30
people live there and they host performances: circus, punk, traditional theatre, hip-hop, etc. Visit at
Yungay 1772, Valparaiso, Chile, tiaocasa.blogspot.com

Kulturhuset Underjorden/SPATT - Gothenburg, Sweden

A social center that hosts shows, do-it-yourself activities and an infoshop. (Mail: Box 30, 40120
Gothenburg, Sweden.) www.spatt.info

CSA La Torre - Rome Italy

A squatted radical community center. Visit at: via Bertero 13 Roma, Italy, www.inventati.org

Katipo Books - Christchurch/Otautahi, New Zealand

They are a worker coop publishing group with a bookstore. 15 Winchfield Street, Aranui,
Christchurch, New Zealand 8061 www.katipo.net.nz (mailing: PO Box 377, Christchurch Mail Centre
Christchurch 8140)

India Däck bokcafé – Lund, Sweden

A coffee shop/book exchange. Stora Algatan 3, 224 51 Lund, Sweden www.indiadack.net,
idc@indiadack.net

Smålands Nation – Lund, Sweden

A student community center. Kastanjegatan 7, 223 59 Lund, Sweden, 046-12 06 80,
www.smalands.org

Brian MacKenzie Center closes after 9 years

We are saddened to learn of the demise of the BMC infoshop. Keeping a volunteer collective together
over a span of years requires constantly renewing the core group with new members. This is a
challenge every similar project faces -- we still have a lot to learn about solving this problem as a
typically youthful scene. They are seeking donations to help them pay off debts. Check out:
www.dcinfoshop.org. Until a planned radical library project gets going, Ryan suggests visiting some
of these spots if you’re in DC:

* The People’s Media Center - an Independent media lab and event space for workshops, punk
shows and all sorts of radical activist stuff. 4132 Georgia Ave NW, Washington DC, 20011
www.dcspeakout.com

* Sankofa books and cafe - a radical and black liberation book and video store with a coffee shop
and cafe attached. 2714 Georgia Avenue NW Washington, DC 202-234-4755

* Emergence - a community center that does a lot of theater type stuff, dance classes, herbal and
other health workshops, arts and film screenings. Less of a drop-in space and more of a specific
event space. 733 Euclid St. NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 462-2285

Mistakes in the 2009 organizer

* The Fargo-Moorhead Community Bicycle Workshop in Fargo, ND recent moved. Their new
address is 1418 1st Ave N #1 Fargo, ND 58102, 701-478-4021, info@fmbikeworkshop.org

* The OKC Infoshop is at 29 (not 33) NE 27th St. in Oklahoma City, OK 73105.

* The In Our Hearts Infoshop in Brooklyn NY is now called the 123 Space. Same address.

* Spartacus Books in Vancouver, BC, Canada is on the ground floor, not the second floor.
The street address listed is otherwise correct.

* It looks like we mis-spelled the name of the city in the Philippines in which Sadee’s Kitchen
is located -- it is Davao, not "Davae" as printed in the organizer.

Rest In Peace

* Broad Vocabulary, a long-standing feminist bookstore in Milwaukee, WI, closed at the end
of 2008. They say that perhaps a co-op will re-open the store at a new location.

* We heard that Crow’s Place in Brooklyn, NY no longer exists.

* Someone told us the GLBT Center in Mishawaka, IN no longer exists.

* It looks like Feed Your Head books in Salem, MA is gone.

* We heard that the Pitchpipe Infoshop in Tacoma, WA closed.

* We got a letter saying that Southmore House in Houston no longer exists.

* Someone tried to visit the Tallahassee Infoshop at 825 Railroad -- it wasn’t at that address
anymore. Not sure if it moved or expired.

* We got packages returned from the following places -- if you know whether they moved
or died, let us know:

* Sweet Bee Infoshop at 513 E. St. Des Moines, IA 50309

* Rocktown Infoshop 85 E. Elizabeth St. Harrisonburg, VA 22802

* Sin Reading Room 918 Ward St. Nashville, TN 37207

* Rosetta News Collective 212 W. Freeman Carbondale, IL 62901

Bike Collective Network

For an impressive listing of community bike shops that encourage a do-it-yourself relationship
with your bike on a non-profit, low-cost, sometimes volunteer-run, basis, check out
www.bikecollectives.org. Many have classes, space where you can work on your bike, and recycled
parts. At the moment, Slingshot has been listing some of these spaces in our organizer and our
radical contact list when they ask us to or when that is the only alternative group that has a physical
space in a particular town. Let us know if you think we should include the entire list in our contact
list.

Update on Infoshops | 7 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Authored by: butternut on Monday, February 02 2009 @ 12:28 PM UTC

This is great to see!

It would be really helpful if people who have been involved in the creation of these spaces, or of older spaces too, could write up something talking about how they did it, what hurdles they had to jump over, what breakthroughs they had, any other advice they have... because I think a lot more people are looking at starting up infoshops/community centers/other types of radical spaces and we can use all the help we can get as we try to figure out what the hell we're doing.

Authored by: communitycntrl on Monday, February 02 2009 @ 12:58 PM UTC

a main thing i can think of that is not often mentioned when people talk about running volunteer, collective spaces is this:
Do not let it become a clique of friends.
Leave the socializing for before or after the meetings, and stick to talking about what needs to be talked about to keep the space running. Make new people feel welcome by not being a social circle, but instead a meeting of equals. After the meeting, gossip and chit chat all you want. But during the meeting it makes people feel excluded and confused as to what is going on.

Also, stick to only the most basic, necessary discussion topics. Hour long discussions on internal gender dynamics (for example) at every meeting is one sure-fire way to destroy an organization.

Authored by: engine summer on Monday, February 02 2009 @ 08:20 PM UTC

thats interesting, in my experience some of the most sure fire ways to ruin our organizations and spaces is to have people not be friends, and to not examine internal power dynamics.

Authored by: Admin on Monday, February 02 2009 @ 08:36 PM UTC

You aren't really getting communitycntrl's points, which are good ones. It's good that people involved in a project like an infoshop be friends, but usually they get to the point where not everybody is close friends, so it's important for meetings and process to be task-oriented. communitycntrl is also correct that one of the things that always drives away newcomers is a cliquish atmosphere that exists between existing members of the organization.

I thinkcommunitycntrl is also right on about these groups getting bogged down in excessive navel-gazing about stuff like group dynamics. Yes, it's important to address these things when problems arise, but your group isn't going to survive for long if you let it become dominated by people who want to talk about these things constantly. If people really want to have in depth conversations about things like gender dynamics, then you should set up a workshop, themed discussion or retreat to give the discussion more priority and focus. Otherwise, how are you going to get the business of the organization processed during meetings?

Chuck

Authored by: communitycntrl on Wednesday, February 04 2009 @ 01:15 PM UTC

i didn't say don't be friends. i said keep social hour outside of the meetings.

i didn't say don't examine internal dynamics, i said don't make that a focus of the meeting. for example, there were some guys who got involved in our infoshop who talked loudly and on top of others and interrupted people and didn't give other chances to respond (especially women). we didn't have talks about it every meeting forever and ever, i talked to them about it OUTSIDE of the meeting. this is why it is important TO be friends, so you can talk to each other about things like this casually, and not waste everyone's time or give self-righteous people an never-ending soapbox by talking about it for hours IN the meeting.

Authored by: talia on Monday, February 02 2009 @ 03:34 PM UTC

Let a thousand infoshops bloom, but I'm pretty skeptical about the way they are defining some of these projects. Mississippi Market, which is a perfectly fine but not remotely radical (much less anti-profit) consumer-owned co-op? Hmmm.

Authored by: Admin on Monday, February 02 2009 @ 04:21 PM UTC

I'm going to go on record here and make a promise.

I've been sitting on a book-in-progress about infoshops for several years. I promise to work on this book and get it published by the end of 2009. Normally, I'd be worried about finding money to print it, but I'm willing to do print-on-demand for a small print run if that is what it takes to get this book out there.

Most of the above comments by other folks are very to the point about infoshops.

Chuck

Main Menu

Submit Articles and Events

Follow Infoshop on ...

User Functions

Recent I-News Features

Infoshop Hot Links

Independent Media

Blogroll

Other Infoshop News

Events

Poll

Older Stories

Sunday 07-Feb

Saturday 06-Feb

Friday 05-Feb

Update on Infoshops

What's Related

Story Options

Trackback