The project
A coop for women, by women
Context
Hello! We are Coop MADAAM (the Self-Managed Movement of Montréal Women Artists and Artisans).
Our collective was born from the desire to come together in a shared space where we could pool our experiences, knowledge, and creative tools, share our needs and visions and bring to life a place entirely dedicated to the vibrant creativity of women.
Already facing increasing real estate speculation and disproportionate rent increases pressures that force women artists and artisans, who are often more affected by economic precarity, to leave the central neighborhoods of the city the pandemic revealed just how fragile our work and creative spaces truly were.
We therefore decided to change things and to launch an innovative and unprecedented project.
Our Mission
The cooperative of the Mouvement Autogéré des Artistes et Artisanes Montréalaises (MADAAM) is a non-profit social economy organization that supports professional artists and artisans primarily in visual arts and fine crafts in the development of their careers.
Its main objectives are to:
– Provide its members with the tools needed to foster the growth of their practices and encourage interdisciplinary exchange;
– Offer sustainable and affordable creation and production studios through the management of a shared space that brings together professionals from the arts, fine crafts, and other creative disciplines, encouraging synergy among members and practices;
– Promote the talents and expertise of women and people who identify as such within Montréal’s artistic and entrepreneurial communities;
– Preserve, perpetuate, and evolve artistic and craft disciplines;
– Contribute to the socio-cultural vitality of Montréal’s local communities;
– Create a collective legacy that can be passed on to future generations of women artists and artisans;
– Encourage eco-responsible lifestyles, working methods, and artistic practices with the goal of reducing our environmental footprint.
Our Project
To carry out our mission, we aim to transform a building into artists’ studios and create, in the heart of Montréal within the Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie neighborhood a creative hub: a space for sharing that is open and integrated into its surrounding community.
Interested? You can sign up to stay informed about upcoming developments.