Art spaces shouldn’t extract community wealth—they should build community power. We’re figuring out how to make that real.
At QT Studios, we’re done with "how things are done." The status quo—gentrification, underpaid artists, exploitative creative industries—isn’t inevitable. That’s why we’re in the early stages of researching a transition to a cooperative financial entity, where the queer/trans/BIPOC artists and organizers who sustain this space could collectively govern its future.
This isn’t a done deal. It’s a community-led experiment.
The QT Studios Steering Committee—a group of artists and organizers—is guiding this exploration, but no final decisions about governance or ownership have been made.
Why Explore a Cooperative?
Cooperatives are living proof that another economy is possible. While we’re still designing our model, here’s what inspires us:
- Wealth stays in the community. Revenue could flow back to artists, not landlords.
- Decisions are collective. Policies shaped by those who use the space.
- Permanent roots. A cooperative could protect QT Studios from displacement.
We’re in the messy, exciting phase of figuring out how.
With guidance from the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives and tools from Start.coop, the Steering Committee is researching:
- Governance models (Who decides what? How are conflicts resolved?)
- Membership structures (Who gets a say—and how do they join?)
- Ownership transitions (How do we shift equitably?)
Meet the Steering Committee
This group isn’t a board of directors—they’re facilitators of a community process. Their role is to research, propose options, and center your voices:
Rossie (they/she) is a multidisciplinary artist, drummer, and co-founder of QT Studios, blending radical creativity with cooperative vision. Fresh off earning a certificate in Entrepreneurship & Innovation for media arts, they channel decolonial theory, mestiza queer indigeneity, and anticapitalist strategy into building liberatory spaces—where art, music, and community organizing collide.
Norman (they/them) is a Black and Indigenous non-binary artist, zine creator, and community facilitator rooted in decolonial collaboration. Through their work with @onzine.tv and alignment with QT Studios’ mission, they cultivate spaces where art and cooperative learning fuel liberation and collective healing.
Eddie (he/him) is a Latinx preparator at the Asian Art Museum and sound/stage veteran, balancing meticulous art installation by day with raucous guitar and synth for SF’s Queen of Cardboard by night. As QT Studios’ longest-running studiomate, he bridges gallery-grade craft and DIY chaos—always ensuring the show (or exhibit) goes on.
Their job? To listen, not dictate.
How You Can Shape This Future
Cooperatives fail without broad participation. Here’s how to get involved now:
- Share your needs. What would make a cooperative QT Studios work for you? Email us at qtstudios415@gmail.com
- Follow our Instagram for real-time updates on our research: @qtstudios415
- Support the research. Our Patreon funds this phase. patreon.com/qtstudios415
No blueprints, no shortcuts—just collective problem-solving.
We won’t pretend this is easy. Cooperatives require trust, patience, and unlearning capitalist habits. But if any community can figure it out, it’s ours.
Stay tuned, stay critical, and stay in the conversation.