Commons

The Commons refers to the shared financial, technical, and intellectual resources of the collective. It encompasses not only infrastructure and platforms, but also practices, templates, and ways of working together. While not formally codified, the Commons plays a central role in the collective’s operations and vision.

Overview

Originally conceived as a financial resource—a pot of funds that collective members could draw from for projects and emergencies—the Commons has evolved to include shared digital infrastructure, documentation, processes, and knowledge. It reflects the collective’s values of decentralization, equity, and mutual aid.

Purpose

The Commons exists to support collective thriving. It addresses the many hats artists are often asked to wear—creator, promoter, administrator—by encouraging collaborative specialization and resource-sharing. The Commons is guided by a belief in collectivism and communal care, offering members the stability and support they need to create.

Components

• Financial Commons: Managed transparently through Open Collective (currently paused while seeking a new fiscal host).
• Technical Commons:
  • Shared servers running Yunohost, enabling collaborative management of self-hosted services.
  • Platforms like Matrix and Loomio, adopted and governed through collective decision-making.
• Intellectual Commons: Publicly shared templates, protocols, and cultural practices that are co-created and freely available.
• Social Commons: Processes and cultural norms around decision-making, budgeting, conflict resolution, and more.

Access and Stewardship

All members of the collective theoretically have access to the Commons. However, differing levels of familiarity with tools can create practical barriers, particularly in the technical realm. The Technology Council actively works to increase literacy and participation around the Commons.

Stewardship is porous and non-hierarchical. While the Social, Technology, and Economics#Councils informally steward different aspects of the Commons, any member can propose grants, initiate decisions, or contribute to maintenance.

Decisions are typically made by consensus and often asynchronously to allow for equitable participation.

Guiding Principles

The Commons is inspired by:

• African philosophies such as Nyerere’s Ujamaa and Kenyan models like chamas and saccos
• Contemporary movements around digital mutualism and decentralized governance such as Open Collective
• The frameworks in Free, Fair and Alive by David Bollier and Silke Helfrich

Challenges and Evolutions

The Commons has remained intentionally loose and undefined to allow for organic growth. Contrary to fears of the "tragedy of the commons," members often request lower compensation or limit their use of shared funds to ensure the Commons’ sustainability.

Technical issues—such as hardware failures and ISP restrictions—have challenged self-hosting efforts. As a result, the collective has at times relied on centralized services like Digital Ocean, though it is actively working toward greater self-determination in its infrastructure.

Future of the Commons

The creation of this wiki is part of an ongoing effort to make the Commons more visible and accessible. This includes:

• Moving away from centralized hosting providers toward self-hosted infrastructure
• Finding a new fiscal host to reactivate Open Collective
• Formalizing and sharing social and technical protocols more broadly