Years ago, when I was working as a barista, I decided to join the Dutch Barista Championship. A national coffee tournament where a barista presents and serves drinks for judges with a self-chosen coffee. I fancied a coffee that was produced by a Kenyan coffee cooperative. There I was in my mid-twenties, preparing beverages with a coffee that was harvested by a coffee cooperative around 6600 kilometers away, and passionately sharing their story with the competition judges. I was explaining how a group of coffee producers formed a cooperative to divide labor, produce sustainably, and share their resources. And how they also better manage government rules and market issues. The coffee cooperative acted as a consensus model, management structure, and negotiation plan.

But also, how they as a cooperative, can pay a fair loan to the different farms which all have different needs. For instance, the coffee harvest size is dependent on the farm's location and climate. A farm at a higher altitude has different weather circumstances. In this way, those who may not produce enough volume to attract buyers also can be part of the bigger whole. And provide access to shared resources, facilities, knowledge, and connections. The cooperative supports its members (farmers), by offering and building a shared infrastructure, paving the way for each other. Within the cooperation, responsibilities are shared, and problems are solved as a collective.

Years later, looking back to that moment. When I was trying to explain the cooperative model of the coffee farmers, I wondered what I really knew about their cooperation. Did I really have an idea about their cooperative working methods on a day-to-day basis? No, but what fascinated me back then was how such a large group of coffee farmers was represented in a single cup of coffee.

At its core, cooperation is about the willingness to work with others, to be able to really work with others. More broadly, cooperation is a way of relating to (each) other. It is about solidarity. Stemming from togetherness, as well as encouraging and facilitating it. Working collectively for the benefit of a more equal greater whole. Opening yourself up to things that are outside yourself, itself, or oneself. And ask yourself how you relate to that. A cooperative way of thinking is: constantly asking what cooperation means. Cooperation or cooperatives are not just labels you can put on things. Cooperation is more than simply a theme for an exhibition. Neither is a self-proclaimed term to bring together artists, curators, cultural producers, and audiences. It is a methodology, a 'practice' that requires practice. A cooperative mindset is an ability to go inward and open yourself up to something bigger than yourself. Understanding relations between people and things. Cooperatives are omnipresent, commonplace, and ordinary. They are part of society and culture, and everyday as a cup of coffee. Right?