In the third episode of Parallel Streams Sophie Hope introduces and contextualises the final episode of Remember the Future Season 2 from art.coop.

What does it mean for philanthropy to exist in relationship to the solidarity economy? What if artists led a redistribution effort to resource arts collectives?

EPISODE 03 | MARCH 13 | 2026

Sophie Hope | Marina Lopez | Sruti Suryanarayanan

Art.coop describes itself as “working for a future in which artists closest to the pain of an extractive economy know their power and use it to dismantle the current system. We resource a community of artists committed to building the art worlds we want. Art.coop is located in the U.S. but is rooted in the international Solidarity Economy movement.”

In this episode of Remember the Future (the final episode of season 2), Marina Lopez speaks with Art.coop organizer and Remember the Future Fellowship co-lead, Sruti Suryanarayanan. They discuss the work of three fellows, Acres of Ancestry, Ohketeau Cultural Center, and Question Culture - who weren’t able to join the podcast for individual conversations,

Marina and Sruti explore how three innovative artist collectives are building solidarity economies, resisting oppression, and creating transformative cultural work through cooperative practices. Sruti also reflects on the learnings from the pilot year of the Remember the Future Fellowship and what we can look forward to next year.

What does it mean for philanthropy to exist in relationship to the solidarity economy? What if artists led a redistribution effort to resource arts collectives?

art.coop https://art.coop

The original podcast in its original context https://rememberthefuture.buzzsprout.com/2087911/episodes/18087382-reimagining-redistribution-when-artists-resource-each-other

Solidarity Not Charity (from the Miaaw archives) https://www.miaaw.net/e/solidarity-not-charity/

Art.coop & the New Economy Coalition (from the Miaaw archives) https://www.miaaw.net/e/artcoop-the-new-economy-coalition/

- - - - - - - - - -

Tags music, prison

Length 60:54

Owen Kelly has heard the terms “conscious consumption” and “ethical consumption” thrown around a lot recently. In this episode he tries to find out whether or not they count as synonyms, and whether or not the terms add any real value to our discussions, and to ideas of cultural democracy.

MARCH 6 | SERIES 2026 | EPISODE 84

Owen Kelly

Owen Kelly has heard the term “conscious consumption” thrown around a lot recently. He has also heard people talk about “ethical consumption”, and started to wonder about whether or not they should count as synonyms.

In this episode he delves into their history and, with his tinfoil hat on, asks whether they constitute a giant diversionary tactic aimed at keeping people busy while discouraging them from seeking the changes that will actually “make a difference”.

They act as nouns when we ought to try to find verbs that describe what we can do, rather than label another imaginary object to join the legion that we can see all around us, weighing us down and separating us.

Conscious Consumerism: What Is It? Where Did It Come From? https://builtin.com/articles/conscious-consumerism

Why Is Conscious Consumption so Important? https://lifestyle.sustainability-directory.com/question/why-is-conscious-consumption-so-important/

Sian Wilkerson: How can I practice conscious consumption? https://news.vcu.edu/article/2024/08/how-can-i-practice-conscious-consumption

What is the difference between ethical consumption and conscious consumption? https://bromundlaw.com/social-issues/ethical-consumption-vs-conscious-consumption

How Does Ethical Consumerism Relate to Conscious Consumption? https://lifestyle.sustainability-directory.com/question/how-does-ethical-consumerism-relate-to-conscious-consumption/

Why there is no “ethical consumption” under capitalism https://www.marxist.ca/article/why-there-is-no-ethical-consumption-under-capitalism

Sophie, Jo, and guests, discuss power sharing, community leadership, governance structures, co-creation, longitudinal evaluation, anti-oppressive working practices, and communities of practice.

EPISODE 02 | FEBRUARY 27 | 2026

Jo Gibson | Sophie Hope

In this episode, Sophie and Jo talk to Jo Chard, Senior Producer for Disrupt at Guildhall School; Divya Satwani, producer, Somatic coach and facilitator; Alan Lane, co-chair of Slung Low, a theatre company in Leeds; and Maia Mackney, Public Engagement and Evaluation Manager at Guildhall School.

We talk about their involvement in Disrupt, an ongoing series of interventions, initiated in 2020 at Guildhall School, to explore ways in which cultural organisations collaborate with communities more equitably.

We discuss power sharing, community leadership, governance structures, co-creation, longitudinal evaluation, anti-oppressive working practices, communities of practice and more! Thanks go to all our podcast contributors and to Iona McTaggart, who couldn’t join us for this episode, and everyone else who has been part of Disrupt over the years.

Disrupt Toolkit: https://www.disruptfestival.org/toolkit

Slung Low https://www.slunglow.org/

Sharing power: the ethics of decision making and funding article by Maia Mackney and Jo Chard https://ncace.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NCACE-Research-Report-Collaborations.pdf

Old Fire Station Storytelling Evaluation Method: https://oldfirestation.org.uk/our-work/storytelling-evaluation-methodology/

Cards on the Table: https://www.cardsonthetable.org/

Barbican Communities and Neighbourhoods Team – Imagine Fund https://www.barbican.org.uk/imagine-fund-2024

Leytonstone Love Film: https://www.barbican.org.uk/leytonstone-loves-film-community-fund

Community Impact Collective: https://www.barbican.org.uk/community-impact-collective

Headway East: https://headwayeastlondon.org/

Jumped Up Theatre: https://jumpeduptheatre.com/

Can we talk about power? Online talk series curated by Suzanne Alleyne: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2021/event/can-we-talk-about-power